Fated Shift: Rearmed
by Centurious the Azure
Summary: A Rewrite of Gundam SEED: Fated Shift with co-author Storm Wolf77415. Sometimes a small ripple can create a change. And a simple change can create a tsunami in destiny. Experience the new wave of Fated Shift: Rearmed. OC/Flay. Kira/Imported Character. Mu/Murrue.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Gundam Seed belongs to Mitsuo Fukuda. Yukimasa Sahaku belongs to Centurious the Azure.

Gundam Seed: Fated Shift

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

(Morgenroete Technical College, Heliopolis Space Colony, L3, September 17th, C.E. 70)

Fifteen-year-old Flay Allster sighed, fidgeting nervously in her chair in the lecture hall at Morgenroete's technical school. It was unseasonably warm day and the air conditioning was out, her long fire engine red hair clinging damply to the back of her neck. There were times when she wondered why her father insisted on wanting her to stay at Heliopolis, when she could have easily attended school back in the Atlantic Federation homeland.

It was everything the pretty redhead had to not fall asleep as their teacher, Seijuro Kato, continued his lecture. Many of her classmates were already passed out from a combination of the heat and Kato's droning monotone voice. Flay was about to give in when the bell rang. "Saved by the bell!" She remarked, quickly packing her bag, making for the door, the warm sun feeling welcome against her elegant, pale face.

"It's such a nice day, maybe I'll walk home." Flay remarked, walking down the sidewalk. Despite how warm it was, she couldn't help but relish being in the outdoors. She would have preferred being at the Allster Plantation in Virginia outside of Washington D.C. back in the Atlantic Federation where she could take her horse out for a ride through the pastures, but a brisk walk through the local park would be just as well.

(The same time)

Unbeknownst to many others, as the college was letting out classes for the day, a team of engineers and scientists were currently working on a top secret project in a secure facility beneath the campus, one that would cause a major shift in the fate of the Cosmic Era.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the screens of the various terminals. One terminal was currently active, as a young woman with long brown hair labored over the keyboard, the screen scrolling with lines of code. Her eyes flickered back and forth, before she groaned in exasperation. "My brain is going to leak out of my ears if I have to look at this any longer! What is it I'm missing?" She growled in frustration.

A tall stunning woman walked up next to the brunette, her considerable bust straining against the orange coveralls she wore. Long pink hair flowed down her back in thick wavy curls; her blue eyes reflected the lines of code. "How's it going, Murrue?" The woman drawled leaning over her friend's shoulder.

"It's getting there, Sharon. We just need a little bit longer and we should have a working Operating System for the G-Weapons." Lieutenant Murrue Ramius said to Ensign Sharon Heim. "Although I think I'm going to need a break here before too long. I'm going to lose my mind if I have to look at it any longer."

Sharon chuckled, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Don't blame you one bit." She put a comforting hand on Murrue's shoulder. Her massive breasts digging into her comrade's back, which the brunette found just a little bit uncomfortable. "Let's take a break and get a breath of fresh air. The operating system isn't going anywhere. Running yourself into the ground certainly isn't going to help it move along any faster."

Murrue stood up, turning off her monitor. "I suppose you're right." She sighed, running a hand through her shoulder length brown hair. "As long as we're doing this, how about we grab lunch? I'll pay."

"Don't mind if I do!" Sharon winked, hugging her ample chest. The two walked by two of their coworkers. "Hey boys, we're going to get some lunch, we'll be back soon."

"We'll be here." One young man drawled, eyes still glued to the screen. He leaned back in his chair. "We are so close, Kei. I can feel it in my bones. If we could just work out the last few lines of code we can make this Operating System work. It will go a long way to making the Astrays combat ready for Naturals."

"I hear you, Masa." The one known as Kei said, scrolling through a couple of windows as schematics for mobile suits danced in front of his eyes. "It's rather convenient that our clients came to us for help. They do all the heavy lifting and we reap the benefits! We've managed to copy all the data except for that Phase-Shift Armor so far. But that's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things."

"There's a part of me that really doesn't want to release these new units." Masa frowned. "It's going to be the cause of a new arms race. ZAFT builds mobile suits, Earth Alliance builds mobile suits of their own, and next you thing you know, it's lather, rinse, repeat."

"The Earth Forces would have developed mobile suits of their own even if they hadn't come to us for help, Masa." Kei shrugged. "But I get what you're saying. Look at it this way. If the Atlantic Federation and her allies get their own mobile suits, then the war will end that much more quickly." Masa had no more words for his co-worker, instead just focusing on his screen as schematics for one of the new machines scrolled in front of him reading "GAT-X105 Strike."

After staring at his screen for another half hour, Masa sighed, turning off his monitor. "I'm going to call it here for the day, Kei. If I have to look at one more line of code, I'm certain my brain is going to come gushing out of my ears! I'll catch you tomorrow morning." Not even bothering to hear his friend's response, he stripped off his coveralls, putting on his usual attire of a red hoodie, jeans and red sneakers.

Daisuke Ikari, aka Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku, was a seventeen year old native son of Orb, but with his pale skin, neck length black hair that matched the void of space itself, and blood red eyes that held a calculating gleam. Many would think he came from the Eurasian Federation, specifically a certain region of Romania that was known for a guy based off the infamous madman Vlad the Impaler who may or may not have had a fetish for drinking blood and turning into a bat.

Unlike Count Dracula, Yukimasa didn't wither into ash at the sight of the sun; he welcomed it like an old friend. He held his hands out in a wide, theatrical manner, as if he wanted to embrace the sun. "Ah, after being cooped up underground all day, I forget about that giant ball of gas half the time, ironic considering it's the national symbol of my country, but we all have our senior moments."

He took off down the sidewalk, taking in the atmosphere. Heliopolis was a decent representation of the Pacific Island nation, the United Emirates of Orb, despite being September, the colony was kept in a near brutal eternal summer. It was nearly always humid, but at the very least it meant he got to see the girls in shorts and skirts, and even better, short skirts. He walked to a nearby park, sitting down on the first bench he could find.

"It doesn't get much better than this." He remarked, until he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Lips twisted upward, revealing twin rows of spiky teeth in a huge grin. "Or maybe it does." Flay had decided to take a brief walk in the park before heading home. "Hey beautiful! Over here!" He called out, waving frantically.

The redhead lit up when she saw him. "Hey Masa!" Flay was one of the few people who knew of his true identity. She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "So I see we had the same idea?" He just responded with his usual grin. "Class went fine, although I'm still finding it difficult keeping all the different communication algorithms in order."

"No one pegged my girl as being good with machines, I bet?" Yukimasa drawled. "Shall we take a little walk in the park? It's such a lovely day, and being with a pretty girl makes it all the more enjoyable." Flay gave a playful smile, and a wink, grabbing onto his arm. Her long fire-engine red hair fanning out behind her in the breeze. Not many people knew of their little romance, and that's just how they liked it. Not many people would expect the daughter of Atlantic Federation Undersecretary George Allster to fall for an Orb noble, and a Coordinator on top of it.

(Morgenroete Technical College, September 18th, C.E. 70)

Despite being just a simulacrum of the planet below, it was a gorgeous day on Heliopolis. Sitting at a gazebo on the campus was a young man of sixteen, eyes glued to his laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard, while occasionally flickering to the news stream playing about the war raging far away, mentioning about a skirmish between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance off the coast of the Republic of East Asia.

"Hey Kira!" A voice called out, causing Kira Yamato to look up, where he saw two of his friends approaching. Tolle Koenig was Kira's best friend, wearing a button up shirt and dark blue jeans. "Honestly, if you spend any more time with that computer, you're going to become permanently attached to it! I'm hoping you don't plan on marrying it, Kira. Otherwise I'll be really worried about you."

"Oh don't pay any attention to him!" His girlfriend, Miriallia Haw lightly smacked Tolle on the arm. A slight wind blew through, causing her orange dress to billow about her. Miriallia, or Miri to her friends, frantically grabbed at her skirt, not wanting to expose her underwear. "Although there is something we wanted to discuss with you, Kira. If you're not too busy right now."

"I was just going over some notes for next week's exam. Kato has been really cramming this down my throat. I'll welcome the distraction." Kira snapped his laptop shut before slipping it into his bag. Both of his classmates took a seat in the shade of the gazebo across from him. "So what is it you guys need?"

"We'll cut right to the chase with you, Kira. Tolle and I set you up on a date." Miri said plainly. "I'm serious, all you ever do is study and spend time in the library! You need a girlfriend! But don't worry; we set you up with the perfect match. You two will get along just fine!"

"Just whom exactly did you set me up with?" Kira asked nervously. Despite being for all intents and purposes, a colossal geek, the young student's hormones were in perfect working order. More than once he snuck a quick glance at some of the girls walking by. Especially Flay Allster, one of the prettiest girls in the entire school, but she was way out of his league.

"No one in particular. Just Yui Takamura." Miriallia smiled, pulled out her digital single lens reflex camera at the same moment, snapping a quick picture of Kira's gobsmacked expression. She had aspirations to be a journalist, so she was always looking for photo ops. "Well, Tolle, it looks you were right, Kira did completely lock up when I said it was Yui. I guess I owe you five bucks."

She wasn't wrong. All thoughts of the redhead were quickly flushed out of Kira's mind. If Flay was pretty, then Yui Takamura was an absolute goddess. He had seen her plenty of times around campus, a wild mane of long dark brown hair hanging freely down her back almost to her rear end, eyes of a deep purple that matched his own. She moved with a fluid poise few could hope to match. He wondered if she was some kind of royalty. He recalled one particular incident just two months ago when his group of friends went to the pool.

Yui had been there, wearing a light blue one-piece racerback swimsuit with a white swimcap. She had been just lounging by the pool, soaking up the rays. She had then entered the pool with a slow grace. It had enraptured him, watching as she slowly waded about in the water. He was so immersed in his memories, Tolle had to smack him upside the back of the head to snap him out of it.

"Wake up, Buttercup." He snickered, while Miriallia giggled. "Yes, we set you up with Yui. Let's face it, not only is she smoking hot, but she's a total egghead just like you."

Miri patted Kira on the shoulder. "At the very least give her a chance, Kira. I think you two have a lot in common."

"Wow, thanks Mir." Kira weighed his options. Okay…I'll give it a shot. When does she want to meet up and where?"

"Day after tomorrow, there's this really nice little Italian place that we went one time. It's called Tony's. The food is really good, not to mention very affordable." Tolle said, leaning in close. "I'm doing you a major solid here, my friend. I want details about what happens, got it?" Miriallia grabbed onto his ear, dragging him away.

"Meet her at 6pm sharp! Yui doesn't like being kept late!" She called out.

(September 20th, C.E. 70)

Kira fingered the collar of his white dress shirt as he nervously paced outside Tony's. He checked his phone, the white display numbers reading 5:58. "I'm not late, I even made sure to come early." He muttered to himself, he leaned up against the nearby telephone pole. It was then he caught sight of her. Yui wore a simple short-sleeved dress colored a lovely shade of turquoise with matching ballet flat shoes. Long brown hair hung freely down her back, as the light caught the silver pendent hanging around her neck. "Good evening, Yui. It's nice to see you." Kira said, fervently praying he wasn't blushing.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Kira." The young lady was blushing slightly. Clearly she was feeling as awkward about the date as he was. He couldn't help but find it to be incredibly cute. Yui ran a hand through her long brown hair, "I'm sorry if I'm late. I had washed my hair and it still wasn't completely dry yet. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"No, you're just fine. I thought I might have messed up!" Kira let out a sheepish grin. "Shall we go in? I'm certain we don't want to lose our reservations now, do we?" Yui nodded. Kira held open the door, allowing her to go in first. They sat down in the waiting room. The door opened, admitting someone Kira didn't expect to see.

"Oh hello there." Flay said. "I guess we had the same idea when it came to dinner." The redhead wore a white blouse and knee length skirt a few shades darker than her hair, complete with a white-gold locket around her neck, and a pair of matching hoop earrings, her ensemble complete by a pair of high heels matching the color of her skirt with two inch heels.

"Yo Kira!" Yukimasa Ikari said, giving a jaunty wave. His eyes widened a little at the sight of Yui. His lips pulled into his trademark grin that people said resembled a shark. "Well now. The day has finally come! The King and Queen of Nerds have finally united!" He gave Kira a strong smack on the shoulders. "Good show, my friend! I never thought the day would come when you hooked up with Yui Takamura of all people!"

"It's only our first date!" Yui protested, her cheeks flushing ever brighter.

Flay just let out a delicate giggle, befitting a girl of her social status. "Don't mind, Masa. He's always like this." She leaned forward slightly. A playful gleam showing in her blue eyes, "I for one think it's great you two are going out."

"Uh…thanks Flay." Kira said. He couldn't help feel conflicted, while he had always a huge crush on Flay; he wasn't getting the usual sensations. Perhaps it was because Yui had subconsciously taken hold of his hand, he couldn't help but notice how soft Yui's skin was, making him wonder about the kind of lotion she used.

It was then the hostess came up. "Excuse me, but are Mr. Kira Yamato and Mr. Yukimasa Ikari present?" The two boys raised their hands. "I'm sorry, but we had a slight error. It seems we misplaced one of your reservations and we only have one table available. I'm terribly sorry about the inconvenience." She bowed her head in shame.

"It's quite all right, dear. If the table is large enough, we can all sit together." Yukimasa said, waving a hand dismissively. "If that's okay with everyone?"

"I have no problem with that." Flay said.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that." Kira said, looking to his date who just gave a delicate nod.

"Well, I guess this just turned into a double date." Yukimasa said, flashing a debonair smile at the hostess. "Care to show us to our table now?" This earned him a slap on the shoulder from Flay. "What? Can't a guy compliment a beautiful woman? You like it when I do it!"

"Just make you keep your little friend in your pants, all right?" Flay rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'm sorry about this, but he flirts with every girl we come across! When I'm not kissing him, I want to strangle him!"

"Flirting with all those girls just makes me appreciate you that much more, honey. Yeah they're all fairly nice on the eyes, but none of them have your poise." He planted a kiss on her cheek, "Your grace." Her cheeks flushed on the second kiss. "Not to mention your killer good looks. They're all rather plain compared to you."

Kira decided it was time to change the subject. "How are you guys doing with school?"

Yukimasa shrugged. "About normal…Professor Kato is a total slave driver. I think he just likes foisting work on me. He spends the bulk of his time locked up in his lab. I can't recall the last time he actually delivered a lecture himself." Both Kira and Flay shared a slight glance. They both had Kato and noticed that he seemed delegate more and more authority to Yukimasa, who served as one of his teaching assistants.

"That is weird." Yui remarked. "I'm the TA for Kato's other class, and he's been doing the same thing for me." It had been rather unsettling for her to run the classes, giving that she was more or less the same age as the people she was teaching. The waitress then appeared with menus for the four teenagers and they ordered their meals. Salads for both of the girls while Kira got spaghetti and Yukimasa got a large 8-inch pizza.

With bellies full, the two couples departed the restaurant, "So where do we go now? The night is young." Yukimasa said.

"How about to Glenn Park? The lake is beautiful this time of night." Yui suggested.

"That's a great idea! Can we go, Masa? It would make me very happy if you say yes." Flay said in slightly suggestive manner. Clapping her hands together, Flay pulled out the most devastating weapon in any girl's arsenal, the Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom, a weapon that to this very day had no available countermeasure. "Please? Please can we go?" Yukimasa just sighed, giving a resigned nod. "Yay!" She cheered.

Yukimasa looked to Kira. "Best get used to this while you can, Kira. Nothing can beat those eyes. I'm sure Yui will use them on you once you get the chance."

"Yukimasa!" Yui sputtered, feeling her face heat up. "Don't say that! This is only our first date, We barely know each other." Yukimasa began laughing, while Flay struggled to stifle her own giggles. "It's not funny!" She shot a fierce glare to Kira. "Don't you even think about it or I'll give you one right across the kisser!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Kira said, pushing down his laughter. He couldn't deny Yui was kind of cute when she was angry.

"Glad to see you're so predictable Jellyui!" Yukimasa teased, not fazed in the slightest at the dirty look being sent his way. "You see, Kira. Yui likes to project the image of being rock solid, and that nothing ever fazes her. The truth is she's just a big old pile of jelly underneath. It's all in how you approach her."

Flay latched onto Yukimasa's arm, not wanting to antagonize Yui any further. "How about we go over to the beach? I think it would be a lovely place to take a walk."

"Whatever my Red Queen wants, my Red Queen gets." Yukimasa said, giving her hand a delicate kiss, causing her to start giggling again. Kira couldn't help but think they made a nice couple. The two began heading in the direction of the park. "The two of you are coming, right? This is a double date after all. It kind of negates the purpose if both couples aren't present. So get to it, kids!"

Kira and Yui looked to each other shyly. He tentatively reached out. "Do you…want to hold hands, Yui?" She looked away, wishing she didn't blush so easily, before reluctantly holding her own hand out. He gently took it, once again noting how soft the palms were. They followed after their fellow couple, heading down the road to Glenn Park. "I didn't say this earlier, but you look absolutely beautiful in that dress."

"Thank you." Yui responded quietly. She finally dared to look Kira in the face. Her first thought was that despite his gentle and studious demeanor, she could tell there was a great strength within. It came out especially when Yui looked into his eyes, a brilliant strident purple.

Yui cautiously inched closer to him, not wanting to startle her date too much. She jumped when her hand was squeezed. She looked to Kira who gave her an easygoing smile. "I'm glad I agreed to this. I've enjoyed this so far. How about you?"

"Yeah…I have." Yui smiled a little.

The two couples soon made it to the Glenn Park Lake. Flay laughed in delight, taking her red two-inch heels off, and began running along the sand, laughing like a happy child. "It's a shame we didn't bring our swimsuits! You would like that, wouldn't you, Yukimasa?" Flay teased.

"It wouldn't be a bad image, Flay." Yukimasa put his arms around her. "Still, you don't need much to look beautiful anyway. I love you sweetheart." With that, he gave her a gentle kiss. His eyes fell on the nearby playground, the swingset in particular. "Hey, you're never too old to play on the swings. How about I push you?" Flay giggled, grabbing him by the hand. "I'm guessing you like the idea!"

Flay sat down in the seat, "You ready?" She asked, holding tight onto the chains. Yukimasa gave a nod, pulling Flay back in the seat.

"Red Queen 01, this is the control tower you are cleared for take off." He said, before giving a hard push, and with a happy cry she swung up into the air. Kira and Yui looked on in amusement at how happy the two of them looked together. They subconsciously held each other's hand a little tighter, before two pairs of violet eyes locked with each other.

"Maybe we should join them? There's plenty of swings available." Kira ventured, to which his date gave a shy nod. The two took seats besides Flay, and they began swinging as well. Yui relished the rush of the wind in her face, blowing through her thick mane of dark brown hair. "Hey Yui?" The young student gave his date an uncharacteristic smirk. "I bet I can swing higher than you!"

"You're going to be disappointed then!" She said, "I don't like to lose!" With that, she began pumping her legs harder to gain more speed, beginning to pull ahead of her date. Kira laughed, beginning to do the same. All four of them were enjoying the quiet moment. It was just a chance for them to act like normal children for once, a moment they'd later on learn to treasure.

The sunlight pouring through the massive glass windows began receding, causing the sky to turn the brilliant colors of twilight, the slowly darkening blue trimmed with violet and orange. The two couples were beginning to tire out. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but this was a great evening." Yukimasa stretched his arms up high to the ever-darkening sky before putting them behind his back, throwing an aside glance to Kira and Yui. "It was nice sharing it with you guys."

"Thanks for letting us." Kira said, looking over to Yui. "We're going to head home. I have a test in the morning and I'm certain Yui's family is waiting for her."

"Have fun you two! Don't do anything naughty!" Flay called out, waving. Kira just shook his head, as he put his arm around Yui's waist. The two of them left the park, heading down the road, the street lights began blinking to life.

"I just wanted to say Yui…" Kira's voice trailed off, finding himself entranced by Yui's face. The graceful but strong lines of her cheekbones, he was certain she was of nobility. Yui cocked her head slightly, waiting for him to finish. He quickly recovered. "Uh, I wanted to say, that I had a really great time tonight." He looked away slightly. "Maybe…we could go on another date real soon? I was thinking maybe to the movies."

The image of her smile would be one forever burned into his mind and heart. "Sure. I think that would be a lovely idea. It probably would have to wait until next week or the week after. I need to help Professor Kato with exams, not to mention I have a swim meet."

"Uh sure! I'm not in any hurry. Perhaps…I could come and cheer you on?" Kira closed his eyes, really hoping he wasn't blushing. His entire body stiffened when a pair of soft hands rested on his cheeks. The young student opened his eyes to see Yui inches from him, blushing herself. "Provide you some moral support?"

She planted a gentle kiss right on the lips. "You'd better. Or I'll make you have to take extra study sessions." Yui smiled. Despite being only one date, she could feel a connection to Kira. There was something in his eyes that made her want to be near him. Yui Takamura never would admit to anyone, but perhaps she was falling in love with Kira Yamato. Still, she wasn't going to make it easy for him. A girl did have to have standards after all…

(Glenn Lake)

Yukimasa and Flay remained at the park, wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of the landscape before heading hone. They sat on some rocks, listening to the sound of the water lapping against them. "This makes me think of quiet summer evenings at our beach house in North Carolina." The redhead watched as the stars began winking into existence against the night sky. She rested her head against Yukimasa's shoulder. "If my father knew what we were up to, he'd throw a conniption fit."

Yukimasa just leaned in close to her, relishing the scent of her cherry scented perfume. "Well, your old man isn't here. He's a couple hundred thousand miles away in Washington on Earth. It's not exactly like he has any influence on your life when his entire schedule is always constantly full of meetings and golf games with senators and the like. So I don't see any reason for you to worry."

Flay just smiled. "Yeah, Daddy was trying to set me up with another of my classmates, Sai Argyle." She shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. He's a nice enough guy, but he's a little boring." She leaned into Yukimasa's side, clutching his arm tightly. "You, Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku, are anything but boring. I've come to expect a certain amount of spontaneity because of you."

The young man just gave a wide sharkish grin. "I aim to please, my lady. If you want something crazy and random done. There's a fair chance I can oblige. If nothing interesting happens, you just have to do it yourself." Yukimasa held Flay close. "Still, I don't think this is the time to do anything crazy or random." He leaned in close, taking in the sight of her bluish-gray eyes, so full of life. "I wouldn't want to ruin the moment, after all." With that, they kissed against the backdrop of the crystal clear night sky.


	2. The Fated Start

Fated Shift: Rearmed

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Chapter 1

(January 25th, C.E. 71. Heliopolis Space Colony)

Kira and Yui were both lounging in their favorite study spot, a gazebo surrounded by a large grove of trees that provided plenty of shade for those looking to hit the books. As always, the young student's eyes were glued to his laptop screen, watching a news feed from Earth. "I am here at the spaceport in Kaohsiung, where ZAFT forces are currently pressing in, the Earth Forces are in retreat!" The reporter winced as an explosion landed near him.

His entire body stiffened when his girlfriend pressed in, her ample chest digging into his side. "Hey, are you slacking off on me?" Yui asked. Kira thought he was a relatively good student, but Yui had shown him a whole new level of being about diligent when it came to academics, then again, thanks to her relentless quizzing and drilling, he had aced his last four exams, so he couldn't really complain. "What are you watching?" frowning at the images of death flashing before her eyes. "Is that the news?"

"Yeah…ZAFT is trying to take the spaceport in Taiwan." Kira sighed as he closed the box. He didn't want Yui to see it. A lady such as her shouldn't need to be subjected to such violence. "Judging from the looks of it, they're succeeding." He rechecked the date of the stream. "Actually, I take that back. This is five days old, it could very well be that ZAFT captured it."

"Well, if this isn't a peculiar sight? Kira Yamato and Yui Takamura studying together?" The two looked up to see Tolle and Miriallia walking up to them. "Honestly, I knew the two of you would make a good match, I didn't know you'd be this good of a match."

"What do you guys want?" Kira rolled his eyes, while Yui failed to keep her cheeks from glowing.

"Professor Kato asked to see both of you." Mirialla said. "Did he give you two more work to do?"

"Sadly yes, we're still not done with the load he gave us last time." Yui huffed; Kira couldn't help but think she looked cute when she was annoyed.

"Well, the Prof wanted to see the two of you in the lab, he sent us to get you." Mirialla said. "You know he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"We'll be there, give us a few minutes." Kira said, satisfied, his friends departed. He grabbed Yui's arm. "Hey, you know that production of Miss Saigon you wanted to see?" He smiled, reaching into his pocket and producing a pair of tickets decorated with an image of the sun and Asian writing. "I got us tickets for tomorrow night's show."

Yui's eyes lit up. "Oh, thank you, Kira!" She said taking one of them. "You remembered how much I love the theater!" She leaned in, giving him a huge kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for making my day!"

"Anything to make my girlfriend smile." He said, giving her a delicate kiss. As much as he thought she was cute when she was annoyed, it was an even greater joy to see her smile. "Come on, Yui. We don't want to keep Professor Kato waiting any longer than we already have. Let's head over to the campus." The two held hands, walking to join up with their friends.

(Haumea Plaza Heliopolis)

Haumea Plaza was one of Orb's most premier shopping locations, with numerous big name stores. Locals and tourists alike visited it daily, and was one of the Orb Union's top attractions. So it only made sense that it would be lovingly replicated on the Island 3 Colony, Heliopolis. Yukimasa and Flay were currently exploring one of the many boutiques that populated the plaza.

The redhead was currently knee deep in outfits, modeling those she liked. "Well, what do you think?" Flay asked her boyfriend, currently wearing an expensive pair of jeans and a fancy t-shirt colored baby blue. She struck a pose, "Come on, do you like it? Don't forget it's the reason I invited you along with me on this trip in the first place!"

Yukimasa said nothing; he supposed that being romantically involved getting dragged along if the girl wanted a 'man's opinion' when they were picking out clothes. Then again, he was getting his own private fashion show, so was it really such a bad thing? "I think you look smoking hot as always." He commented with his hand his chin. He nodded eagerly as he gave her a good look over. He smiled slightly as his reds met her greyish-blue eyes. "The color of the shirt goes well with your hair, and it really brings out your eyes."

Flay blushed at the compliment. "Then I guess we have a winner!" She went into the changing room to try on the next selection she had picked out. After a couple more outfits, the two left the store, with Yukimasa holding two very heavy shopping bags. The two headed down the street. She grabbed onto his arm. "Thanks for coming with me, I was surprised to hear you say yes. I figured you'd be working."

"Well, I'd much rather spend the day with you." Yukimasa said calmly, praying she didn't see him sweat. He actually was supposed to be at the lab. Both Murrue and Sharon were covering for him, and it would be his head if Kato or anyone else found out about it! He quickly shook it off, Flay was much better company anyway. "Come on, I'm getting hungry. It wouldn't do to shop on an empty stomach now, would it?"

"I am getting hungry." Flay admitted, hand going to her stomach. "There's a nice little Italian place down the street, shall we go there?"

"I'd be happy to." He said cheerfully, before seeing Kira and his friends approaching from another direction. Yukimasa was about to wave to them when a trio of people, a woman and two men, suddenly walked in front of them. He grabbed Flay by the arm, pulling her back to avoid colliding with the newcomers, resulting in the redhead crashing into his arms.

He quickly appraised them, the woman seemed to be in charge, short dark hair framed a stern looking face, a pair of silver framed sunglasses hid her eyes. Her posture was so rigid Yukimasa wondered if she had a steel rod rammed down her spine…or a stick up her ass. It was then it clicked in his head; these were soldiers from the Earth Alliance here to pick up their new toys. "Oh pardon me, I wasn't watching where I was going." The woman said apologetically.

"That's quite all right. Just as long as no one ends up hurt." Yukimasa just put on the charm, and smirked at the newcomers. "My name is Yukimasa Ikari, this vision of loveliness is my girlfriend, Flay Allster. Welcome to the Orb Union space colony of Heliopolis. It's the type of place where you'll never know what you'll find." He planted a delicate kiss on Flay's cheek. That elicited a huge blush on her pale cheeks. "Why…you may even find an angel." This got the woman's attention. "Perhaps I can at least get your name?"

"Natarle…Natarle Badgiruel." The woman said placidly, pulling down her sunglasses to reveal purple eyes with a commanding gleam. "Perhaps you can direct my associates and I to Morgenroete, then, Mr. Ikari? I have important business there, and I can't afford to be late."

"My friends and I can take you there." Kira said, having caught the tail end of the conversation. "We're all students and take classes at the technical college that's located on the factory grounds. We can show you how to get there. Do you know exactly where you're supposed to go?"

"Yes. Yes we do." Natarle said, locking eyes with Yui for the barest fraction of a second.

"I'll go with you as well." Yukimasa offered, flashing an apologetic glance to Flay. "Sorry sweetheart, it looks like we have to go to work after all. Can I get you a rain check on lunch?" The pretty redhead just smiled, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks babe, when this is over I'll take you out for a real nice dinner, all the trimmings!"

Flay giggled. "I'm going to hold you to that!" She cuddled his arm. Everyone piled into a row of electric cars that would take them to Morgenroete.

(PSV _Vesalius_ , just outside Heliopolis.)

The pilot's locker room was bustling with activity, as the soldiers of the Le Creuset Team suited up to prepare for their covert operation. A young man with dark blue hair and piercing emerald eyes donned his flight suit, colored a brilliant red, with gray trim. Lieutenant Athrun Zala looked at himself in the small mirror set up in his locker door. It was then a young man wearing the same color flight suit as him, just a few shades darker than his red hair. "Hey Rusty." He said.

"So this is it, Athrun. Our first real taste of action." Rusty Mackenzie clapped his squadmate on the shoulder. "Bet you never thought our first real assignment would be something so sensitive." It was pure luck that the White Meteor's squadron had happened upon intel about the G-Weapons, and they weren't about to let the Earth Alliance get any kind of leg up on ZAFT.

"Orb has shown their true colors, all their talk about neutrality is nothing but a load of bullshit." Yzak Joule snapped, fastening up his own red flightsuit. "I guess we'll just have to show those Naturals what we think of them trying to create their own mobile suits."

"They can't be any better than our GINNs." Dearka Elsman scoffed.

"Don't be so sure about that." Nicol Amalfi piped up. "There are Naturals out there who are just as talented as Coordinators."

Rusty stretched his arms. "Well, either way, once this operation is over, I'm looking forward to going back to the PLANTs and spending time with my girl." He picked up a small photograph looking at it with a fond expression. "I proposed to her just before we shipped out."

It was then a blonde man wearing a green flight suit poked his head in. "Hey guys, the boss man wants us in the briefing room in fifteen, so get the lead out." The five pilots grabbed their helmets. Rusty replaced the picture in his locker, giving it a final look. It was a young woman wearing a simple pink t-shirt, with long black hair, and narrow almond shaped eyes. On the back written in delicate, feminine handwriting was "To RM, from MC."

(Morgenroete Technical College, Robotics Lab)

Natarle and her companions had separated from the group of students, and were now heading for the primary robotics lab, having been called there by Keijiro. He was currently sitting at one of the lab tables, feet up on the counter when everyone walked in.

"Heya, Masa! I was wondering when you were going to show your ugly mug around here. Kato was about to throw a conniption fit!" He waved. "And hello to you, Ladies! I certainly don't mind being surrounded by women as brilliant…and beautiful as the three of you. You can program my computer any time!" He grinned at Flay, Yui, and Mirialla. All three girls just gave him dirty looks, they were all too familiar with his womanizing.

"Down boy…don't make me turn the garden hose on you. It will be very cold." Yukimasa said, eliciting giggles from Flay and Mirialla. "So what's so important that I had to show up here when I could have been spending time with my hot, oh so sexy girlfriend?" He looked to Flay, her face quickly turning the same shade as her hair.

"The Prof wanted you guys to help with the exoskeleton." Keijiro jerked a thumb over to the crude assembly in the corner. "He also wanted me to take care of our…guests. Pay them no mind. They're…mostly harmless."

Yukimasa raised an eyebrow at the other two occupants of the room. A young man with eyes as black as his hair, he was currently staring at his phone while his companion was leaning against the wall, wearing a brown coat and dark pants, blonde hair under a hat. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the way the person was glaring at him with those hard golden-colored eyes. That sensation intensified when the blonde beckoned him

"Uh, can you excuse me for a minute guys? I need to have a chat with our guests." He grabbed Keijiro by the arm, dragging him out into the corridor. The other two following very close behind them, and Yukimasa was certain the blonde was still glaring a hole into the back of his head. The door slammed shut, and Yukimasa turned on his heel, red eyes meeting gold. "Hello Cagalli, can I just say you look absolutely gorgeous today? I was not expecting you to come all the way out from the homeland just to see little old me."

"Oh can the sweet talk, Sahaku!" Cagalli Yula Attha snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "You know exactly why I'm here, and don't try and change the subject. It is true? Did Morgenroete really help the Atlantic Federation and the Earth Alliance create their own mobile suits?" He winced inwardly at the sorrow in his old friend's voice. "Please don't lie to me, Yukimasa. I've had enough of that already from my father. No one would give me a straight answer, so I came out here to see it for myself."

"Just say yes to her, Bro." The black haired young man said, exasperation colored his voice as his eyes swept across him and Keijiro. "It will save everyone a lot of trouble down the line. All three of us know once her temper gets stoked, it takes forever before it dies down." Kuro Takeshi Sahaku was Yukimasa's younger brother.

"It's been a while, K." Keijiro drawled. "So you joined our favorite princess on this little expedition?" He paid no attention to the furious glare Cagalli shot him; everyone knew how much she hated being called 'princess.'

"I was assigned to be her bodyguard." Kuro put his hands in his pockets. "Once she decided to come out here, I figured it was best to just come along."

"Getting back to the topic at the hand!" Cagalli stamped her foot impatiently. "So tell me, Yukimasa…are the mobile suits here? Did I come out all the way out here for nothing?"

"…Yes, it's true." Yukimasa almost wished he wasn't looking Cagalli in the eye as he uttered those three words. The heartbreak and anguish was written across the Attha heiress's face. "The Atlantic Federation came to Morgenroete because no one knows mobile suits better than we do, and they wanted the very best minds available."

"So it's true! Father betrayed us all!" Cagalli lamented, only to be cuffed upside the back of the head by Keijiro. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" She whined, rubbing the sore spot.

"Because there's nothing worse than listening to you whine, Cagalli!" Keijiro snapped, raising his pointer finger up to her face. "Make no mistake, I respect your old man, but I have no use for this whole neutrality bullshit! You can't possibly be so arrogant to think we can just sit back with all the chaos the world is currently going through! My opinion is if we can't beat them, join them! And we may as well join the side we share the damn planet with!"

"While I don't exactly share Keijiro's desire to join the Earth Alliance, he's not wrong, Cagalli." Yukimasa scratched behind his head. "Sooner or later, someone's going to come banging on the door, wanting something from us. Whether it's Morgenroete's technology and resources, or the mass driver. Neutrality doesn't mean a thing when survival is at stake."

"But it goes against everything Orb stands for! Certainly both of you can see how wrong this all is!" Cagalli shot back, looking imploringly to her bodyguard. "Kuro, back me on this!" The Lioness of Orb wanted to cry when she saw him suddenly become very interested in the grain of the carpet. "Not you too…am I the only one who believes in Orb's ideals?"

"Both Keijiro and Yukimasa make valid points, Caggy." Kuro said in a soft voice. "To be honest, I don't trust either side. The Earth Alliance's stance on Coordinators is well known, if Orb were to join them, it's a given they'd grind down hard on us, and I don't trust ZAFT and the PLANTs because Patrick Zala is a diehard racist who's in line to be elected Chairman in three months' time." He straightened himself up a little, and looked his charge in the eye. He slowly shook his head. "I could care less about the politics, Cagalli. My job is protect you, nothing more."

"If it's any consolation, we're not walking away from this completely empty handed, Cagalli." Keijiro grinned slyly, crossing his arms. "We've managed to copy all the data from the Earth Alliance's weapons, and have been quietly funneling it back home to Erica for use in developing the Astrays, from what I've heard, it's already starting to pay big dividends. Although we still need to work on getting a proper Operating System for Naturals, poor Asagi, Mayura, and Juri, are barely able to get the things to move."

"And that's automatically supposed to make me feel better?" Cagalli frowned, feeling even more betrayed. Kuro just sighed, this was the kind of thing he expected.

"No…but if I know your old man well enough, even he might have approved of this. For how stubborn he is. He wants to be able to protect Orb and all of its citizens. It's always been his first priority." Keijiro straightened his shirt a little. "Let's face it…Ideals aren't always great for policy. Sometimes…you need stone cold firepower to back those ideals up." Cagalli had no further words for that.

(Heliopolis Exterior)

The fact that space is a vacuum and thus silent is one of the oldest jokes in the book, but still, that silence served the line of commandos, clad in both red and green as they made a covert entrance to the space colony. Athrun activated the manual release, letting the hatch slide open. He gave a curt nod to his squadmates, and they all quietly advanced inside.

They all reached the colony interior, hunching down. "Okay, we all know what needs to be done." Athrun laid out the plan. "The greens will set up bombs around the Earth Forces' new carrier, while the reds go after the mobile suits directly. Miguel will be coming in with the GINNs to cover our escape."

"Then let's get to work." One of the lead greens said, the two groups broke off, each heading for their respective targets. It didn't take long for the first squad of greens to find the ship, secure in its berth.

With aid from their jetpacks, the ZAFT commandos began planting explosives all over the place. "Set the timers for five minutes, that should be enough for us to get away." One of them said. The bombs were set, and the soldiers all quickly exited.

(Morgenroete Technical College, Hallway)

Yukimasa was about to throw in his two cents, when the entire building began shaking. "What the?" He started to say before everything shook again, even more violent than the last time, knocking the three off their feet. Kuro grabbed onto Cagalli to cushion her landing. "The hell is going on here?" He staggered to his feet. "Was that…an explosion?"

"I don't know!" Kuro said, quickly checking on Cagalli. "You all right?" He asked, to which the blonde just gave a brief dark, serious gaze snapped to his older brother. "Yukimasa, I think we better get to the shelters."

"Yeah, but I need to go check on something first." He made his way to the classroom, only for the door to bang open, showing a visibly panicked Flay, who quickly threw her arms around his neck. "Hey, I was just going to come get you." He gently rubbed her back. "Are you all right? Is anyone else hurt?"

The redhead shook her head. "No, but what's going on here? The entire building started shaking without any kind of warning." Flay was visibly frightened, Yukimasa simply ran his hand along her delicate, swanlike cheek, taking in the sight of her bluish-gray eyes. She smiled a little at the comforting gesture.

"You can relax, dear. You know I would never let anything happen to you." He looked inside the classroom to see the other students. Kira was holding Yui, while Mirialla fussed over Tolle, Sai and Kuzzey were looking at dismay at the mess scattered on the floor. "Hey you guys!" He called out to the other teenagers. "It would probably be good idea for us to get out of here and make for the shelters."

The students wasted no time in vacated the premises. They were greeted with a sight none of them ever imagined…the entire Heliopolis Morgenroete facility was in flames, and rubble was strewn everywhere. The entire group was in varying degrees of shock. "Who could have done this?" Mirialla exclaimed, clinging onto Tolle.

The answer came in the form of a pair of ZGMF-1017 GINNs wrecking everything in sight with their 76mm heavy machine guns. "ZAFT is here? This is a neutral colony! They don't have the right to do this!" Kuzzey shook all over, only for Kejiro to swat him up side the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?" He whined, tears poking out of the corner of his eyes.

"Oh grow up you big baby!" He barked, flashing a fierce gaze to the rest of them. "I suggest you kids accept the reality in front of you right now! ZAFT could give two shits about your precious neutrality. So don't presume that you can just pretend that what's been going on doesn't affect you! Because guess what?" He held his arm out so they could see all the destruction. "From here on out it does!"

"Let's just get to the shelters. We're vulnerable if we stay here!" Yui urged, squeezing Kira's hand. They made their way along the streets; every so often they'd hear another explosion, or the telltale rattling of gunfire. Flay holding onto Yukimasa's arm in a death grip. They found elevators leading to the shelters, but to their dismay, most of them were fully occupied, as indicated by the red lights over the entrance.

"Here's one that doesn't seem full." Tolle said, indicating to one who had a green light. He keyed the intercom. "Hey, is there room in there? We have people and everything is going to absolute hell up here."

"The shelters filled up really quick. We've only got room for one or two people in here." A voice said from the intercom. Everyone looked to each other. It was the last thing any of the kids wanted to hear.

Yukimasa didn't hesitate, grabbing Flay and tossing her inside. "Yukimasa no!" the redhead cried, only for her protest to be stopped by a deep and passionate kiss. His lips crashed against hers. There was no hiding their secret from the rest of the group now.

"Don't worry…I will come back for you." he ran his hand along her cheek, relishing the feel of her soft, creamy skin. "I love you so much, Flay Allster." He gave her a gentle shove to push her inside the elevator and pushed the button, his girlfriend gave a tearful wave before the door closed, and the elevator sank down to the shelter. He looked to his companions. "I'm sorry, guys, but there wasn't time to debate who got in. We need to find another shelter and now."

(Morgenroete Facility)

Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharon Heim was a woman many would consider extremely attractive, with her slender figure, breasts that were in the upper D-range easily, and long curly pink hair, but she was still a soldier of the Atlantic Federation Armed Forces, and right now she was certain the ZAFT soldiers trying to steal the G-weapon prototypes would find attractive.

"This is the absolute pits, Murrue!" Sharon opened fire with her assault rifle, trying to keep the heads of the ZAFT forces down. "How in the hell did ZAFT find out about what we were doing here? Orb gave us their word that their security was top notch and no one would ever know we were here!"

"Not really the time to think about that, Sharon!" Murrue called out, firing a few rounds at the green clad soldiers. "We have to keep the Strike and the Aegis out of enemy hands!" She took a shot at one of the soldiers, this one wearing red, who managed to duck behind some crates, barely avoiding getting plugged in the head.

"I just thought of something!" Sharon frowned. "I had a date tonight, and now I'm going to have to cancel it." This just earned her a frustrated groan and roll of the eyes from Murrue. She had long gotten used to her pink haired friend's eccentricities, and went back to defending their precious cargo.

(Morgenroete Facility)

The students were still struggling to find a shelter they could take refuge in. Every time they heard an explosion or the colony shook, they would wince. Kuzzey was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Miriallia was keeping a death grip on Tolle's hand, as she offered a silent prayer to Haumea to help them get out of this alive.

"There has to be a shelter around here that can take all of us." Kira said, "Damn it!" He pounded the door in anger. To their dismay, all the shelters they found were full up, and the young student was getting desperate. There was no worse feeling than being powerless in a disaster.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder; Yui gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll get through this, Kira. Just remember what I've always said. Take a deep breath and focus. You can't think clearly if you're constantly worrying." She gave him a light hug. "I figured you would have learned that during our study sessions."

"You really going to make out here when our lives are in danger?" Cagalli groaned, only to feel someone take her hand and squeeze it. She found herself looking into Kuro's eyes. She sighed, knowing this trip might have been a mistake after all. However, she had hidden faith her bodyguard would make good on his duty to protect her at all costs.

"Let's go this way. There should be some shelters over here." Yukimasa waved them all over, kicking open a door with some help from Sai and Tolle. They made their way down the corridors, everything still shaking. After trying the first door, they burst in on a balcony, where they saw two carriers carrying what appeared to be mobile suits.

"What is going on here?" Sai wondered, only to be greeted by the sound of machine gun fire. There were two women in orange coveralls, one with brown hair, the other with pink, as they struggled to hold off the ZAFT forces.

"So that's them…" Cagalli looked on at the two machines. She wanted to throw up at the sight of them, knowing that Orb technology had been used to create these mechanical demons. Apparently her words were loud enough for the people on the ground to hear, as the brown haired woman aimed and fired at them.

Murrue lined up a shot, managing to hit one of the red clad soldiers, punching clean through the faceplate of his helmet. Only to get plugged in the shoulder, her arm burned as she dropped her rifle. She pulled out her pistol as the soldier who wounded her made a rush for the Gundams.

Kira couldn't wait any more, seeing the two women struggling with these invaders to their homeland. He hopped over the railing, leaping down from the balcony and racing for the trucks. "Kira! Get back here!" Yui cried, ducking down to avoid getting shot at by one of the ZAFT soldiers.

Murrue winced as she backed up, hand grabbing for her pistol. Shooting the rifle out of the red clad pilot's hand. He drew a knife, coming at her with the intent to finish her off, only for a third person to enter the conflict, "A civilian? What are they thinking?"

Kira put himself between Murrue and the ZAFT pilot. He was about to demand they stop this right now, but all the words died on his mouth when the soldier spoke one single word that made his entire world shatter.

"Kira?" He got a good look at the pilot's face, purple eyes meeting green. There was no disputing it…Athrun Zala was here in front of him. The two old friends could only gape at each other, as the shadows of the licking flames danced across their faces.

"What those two doing?" Miriallia asked in confusion, not sure just what was going on. Kira was just standing there, staring at the soldier who moments ago was inches away from killing him and the woman. "Could those two…know each other?"

"We can worry about that later." Yukimasa shot a glance to both Cagalli and Kuro. "You guys stay here and get Kira. I have some business to tend to." With that the three Orb nobles took off, leaving the students alone. It wasn't long until they finally found a shelter that had open space.

"Will you be okay?" Cagalli asked Yukimasa as she and Kuro got into the elevator, it was a very tight squeeze, and she couldn't help but flush a little at being so close to her bodyguard.

"You should know me well enough, Caggy." Yukimasa flashed his trademark grin. "I need to go check on something anyway." He looked to his brother. "In the meantime, you just keep her safe." Kuro gave a slight nod and Yukimasa hit the button, sending them both down to the shelter.

Yukimasa then made his way to a part of the compound few frequented, a place not even the Earth Alliance soldiers he and Keijiro had been working on the G-Weapons with went. Walking with purpose, he walked down the hallway, when a sliver of light under a door caught his eye. Yukimasa reached for the straight double sided style combat knife shoved between his belt behind his back. "Who in the hell is that?" He wondered, raising his knife in a reverse grip.

He took hold of the doorknob, a few deep breaths to calm himself and Yukimasa threw the door open, prepared for whatever or whoever might be in there. His jaw dropped. "You!" He exclaimed, lowering his blade. He still bore his teeth at the person he saw in a disgusted sneer.

A regal looking man in his mid-twenties stood at a file cabinet, apparently in the middle of pulling folders and papers out. "Ah…hello there, little brother. I'm sorry for not visiting you, but I was here on business." Rondo Ghina Sahaku drawled, adjusting the sleeve of his very expensive dark purple suit.

"What are you doing here, Ghina?" Yukimasa snarled. He wasn't expecting his oldest brother to be present on the colony. There wasn't a lot of love lost between the two Sahaku brothers to begin with.

"I just came here to claim what's rightfully mine." Ghina finished packing the files into his briefcase. "As long as you're here, perhaps you should help yourself to Kato's other project? I'm certain you would be able to put it to better use than that old fool ever could." Ghina picked up his briefcase. "Until next time Yukimasa. I hope to see you again soon." With that he left the room.

Having no time to think, Yukimasa left the office, heading back down the hallway. It opened up into a large hangar, brilliant red eyes looked up to see three identical looking mobile suits, the only difference being their colors, gold, red, and blue. "The Astray Frame prototypes…so they're completed as well."

Remembering his brother's words. He headed into the next hangar, where he found a large figure covered in a large dark blue tarp. Yukimasa grabbed the corner of the sheet. "Let's see what the old coot has for me." He gave it a strong tug, and it fell off. His eyes widened. "Wow…" was all he had to say.

(G-Weapon Hangar)

Kira and Athrun had taken a few minutes, neither certain what to make of their unexpected reunion. It was cut short when Murrue took stock of the situation, opening fire with her pistol, causing Athrun to leap off. Putting thoughts of his friend aside, he ran across the room to the second truck while Murrue grabbed Kira, pulling him into the Strike's cockpit.

"Get in here if you don't want to die!" Murrue hollered, sitting down into the pilot's seat, while Kira got stuffed off to the side. She began flipping switches and pushing buttons, bringing the mighty war machine to life. She noted with dismay as the other mobile suit slowly emerged as well.

Kira's friends were still rooted to their spot, their minds were still processing everything they were seeing. First their home was attacked, and now they were looking at strange new mobile suits. "We need to get out of here." Sai finally broke the silence, as the entire hangar began to shake.

"Yeah, this place is going to come down on our heads if we don't leave now!" Tolle said, taking hold of Mirialla, to keep her from falling over.

"But we can't run that fast!" Kuzzey whined, only for Tolle and Sai to glare at him, hopping down with Mirialla just behind. "I can't believe these guys!" He said, only for Yui to grab him by his belt, bodily chucking him over the side before leaping down herself.

Everyone turned at the sound of a honking horn, to see the busty pink haired woman in a pickup truck waving at them. "Come on, kiddies! Get in unless you want to get blown sky high!" everyone piled into the back of the truck as Sharon hit the gas, driving out just before the entire hangar collapsed in on itself.

The truck skidded across the grassy field, Sharon rapidly spun the wheel to avoid crashing headlong into the side of building before coming to a stop. "Everyone all right?" She looked back to the pickup bed, where the ashen faced teenagers were still trying to catch their breath and give their internal organs time to catch up with them.

Their own aches were forgotten at the sight of the two G-Weapons and a GINN converging on each other. The machine Kira and the woman had gotten into stumbling along like it had way too much to drink. A hollow feeling crept into everyone's stomachs. Tolle summed up their situation best. "I believe we just leapt out of the frying pan into the fire!"

Athrun hadn't taken long to rewrite the operating system for the machine known as the GAT-X303 Aegis. He saw the GINN approaching. "Athrun, good job, I see you and Rusty came through." Miguel's voice piped in on the radio.

"Rusty is dead, an Earth Alliance soldier managed to get into the last mobile suit!" Athrun said flatly, a bit of grief showing in his voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Miguel didn't let his sorrow show. "In that case, take your prize and head back to the ship. I'll grab this last mobile suit and we'll get out of here. Good luck, Athrun." He received the standard two click response, and the Aegis's engines flared to life, it kicked off from the ground. The pilot known as the Magic Bullet of Dusk stared down the last remaining mobile suit. It hardly seemed like much of a challenge the way it was moving.

"This almost seems too easy." Miguel smirked, raising his rifle. "You're mine, Natural!" He opened fire, only for the machine to dodge to the left, just avoiding get a face full of 76mm rounds. "Hmph, you got lucky, but this is just getting started!"

Murrue struggled with the controls. "Damn that was close!" From his vantage point, Kira watched as she struggled with the controls. It was evident she was not a pilot, and the way they were moving, it was just a matter of time before they ended up getting hit. The Strike continued moving around, it was then Murrue pushed a button on the console. "There, Phase Shift Armor activated. That GINN's rifle is about as effective as paper balls now."

To Miguel and the rest of Kira's friends, they were now witnessing an incredible sight. The Strike, which had once been a stark, plain gray, underwent a startling transformation as the machine's entire frame began buzzing as color started running over it, turning the machine white with a blue and red torso, along with red trim along the feet.

The bullets simply bounced off, not even leaving a scratch. "What the?" Miguel gaped, his golden brown eyes narrowing. "Okay, so you have a fancy little party trick. If bullets won't work." He stowed his rifle, replacing it with the heavy sword. "Let's see how you like this bad boy!" He wound up with the blade, only for it bounce off.

Murrue struggled to keep the Strike on a vertical base. Kira finally had enough. "Move over!" He yelled, and pushed her aside so he could take a seat in the pilot's seat. His face twisted in disgust. "You've been using an operating system like this?" He pulled out the keyboard, beginning to rapidly type. "No wonder it's moving around the way it has been. This OS is garbage!"

"We haven't had time to fully complete it." Murrue weakly protested. It was then Kira quit typing, and the Strike suddenly smoothed out. Her eyes widened in shock, certainly this kid didn't just rewrite the Strike's entire OS in the span of a few short seconds?

"Where are the weapons on this thing?" Kira cycled through the menu. He noted there was a beam rifle and shield it was supposed to carry, but neither of them were present. "A pair of knives and CIWS? That's it!" Reasoning he no other choice, he grabbed the weapons from their storage compartments on the Strike's hips. He danced around the GINN's Heavy Sword, burying one of them in the ZAFT mobile suit's neck, the other in the shoulder. The damaged joints sparked, and flamed. The cockpit alarm blared above Miguel's head, signaling significant internal damage. Thanks to this: Migel had no way of moving his GINN effectively!

"Shit!" Miguel cursed, realizing he had been bested. He quickly keyed the self-destruct sequence, before bailing out. Kira watched as the green clad pilot flew away. He thus missed Murrue's warning, and the GINN exploded, causing the Strike to crash into the side of a building. Kira panted as he guided the mobile suit back to its feet. The battle was over, but at the very least his friends were safe.

Murrue could only stare at Kira. She winced at the stabbing pain in her shoulder, as she remembered that yes she had been shot, and her vision began to blur at the loss of blood. "Oh crap…" was all she time to say before she finally slumped against Kira's shoulder, not able to keep conscious for any longer.

(Morgenroete Park)

The Strike came to a stop, and Kira watched as Yui and the rest of his friends run up. He emerged from the mobile suit, Murrue hanging off his shoulder. "Kira, you all right man?" Tolle asked as the two descended. "That was insane! What happened out there?" He helped Kira guide Murrue's unconscious form over to a bench, while Sai took his jacket to cover her.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself." Kira said, as Yui began rubbing his shoulders. "I got pulled into the cockpit, and we ended up having to deal with that GINN. I realized if I didn't do something fast, we'd both end up dead. You wouldn't believe how crude the OS for that thing is. I had to rewrite the whole thing on the fly!"

"Excuse me?" He looked up to see Sharon, surprise on her face as she walked up. Kira had to try very hard to keep focus on her face and not her chest if just not to make Yui mad. "Tell me if I heard you right…did you just say you rewrote the Strike's entire operating system while you were fighting that GINN?"

"Uh…yes ma'am. It was a necessary measure." Kira said nervously. Sharon smiled coyly, running a delicate hand along his cheek.

"Well…either way, if not for your quick actions, then my friend here wouldn't have made it. Thank you." She said, before her face became all business. "Okay kids. I hate to do this, because you all seem pretty nice. I am Lieutenant Sharon Heim, with the Atlantic Federation Navy. I'm going to need you kids to stay by my side for the immediate future."

"Why should we listen to you?" Sai protested, only to find Sharon inches from his face.

"For starters, you're civilians and you've seen sensitive military technology. Standard procedure requires me to detain you until we can sort this whole problem out. Odds are, all you'll be required to do is sign a nondisclosure agreement saying you won't speak of anything that's happened today." She frowned as she surveyed the destruction. "Although, that's dependent on us actually getting out of here alive. I can't exactly throw you kids into a shelter now, they're all full and on lockdown. So I'm your best chance for survival right now. Take it or leave it."

"I think we should do what Lieutenant Heim says." Yui spoke up, as all eyes looked to her. "She's right…we don't have time to consider other options or debate this." She looked to Sharon. "Tell me, Lieutenant…do you have a way for us to escape Heliopolis before anything else happens?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Sharon immediately took charge, issuing orders to the other kids. She looked to Sai. "Head for the hangar, and bring back the Number 5 equipment trunk, it will have armaments and a fresh battery for the Strike. As for you two." She looked to Tolle and Mirialla. "Find a first aid kid, we need to tend to my comrade's injuries before she bleeds out."

Murrue slowly came to, looking into Sharon's face. "Hey there! You had me worried for a while." The pinkette helped her to sit up. "Careful, don't want to aggravate anything."

"What are those civilians doing?" Murrue exclaimed, about to reach for her sidearm, only for Sharon to grab her arm. "Let go of me right now!"

"Chill out for a minute, Murrue. These kids are working at my order." Sharon explained. She knew Murrue was a reasonable woman, and would accept their aid, the pinkette just needed to sell her on the idea first. "You remember what happened during the firefight earlier? You got clipped in the shoulder."

It started coming back to Murrue then, the shooting pain in her arm. How the mysterious young man had come to defend her, and jumping into the Strike before the entire hangar was destroyed. How they were struggling with the GINN before he rewrote the OS. "That one kid. He…"

"Rewrote the Strike's Operating System in the middle of combat?" Sharon said, a knowing smile on her face. "I've already spoken to the boy. He's quite an interesting person. These kids are all aware of what has happened and have agreed to cooperate with us until we can get to the _Archangel_."

"Have you managed to contact the Captain yet?" Murrue asked, happy to have something else to focus on.

Sharon just shook her head. "Not yet, I don't want to assume the worst yet, but if ZAFT was after the mobile suits, it's a safe bet they went after the ship meant to carry them as well. Although, I've heard they built the _Archangel_ pretty tough. It wouldn't be right to have her in a million pieces before she even made it out of dock."

It was then a tractor-trailer barreled toward them. Everyone was afraid that they might get run over, so it was much to their relief that it skidded to a stop near the Strike, leaving long skid marks in the garage. A large number five was stenciled on the side. "Is this it, Lieutenant Heim?" Sai asked as he hopped out.

"That's it!" Sharon clapped before she turned to Kira. "There's weaponry and spare power packs in the trailer, get into the Strike and get it equipped. We may need to fight our way out of here." Kira nodded, and was about to do so before he caught something out of the corner of his eye, a figure wearing a ZAFT red flightsuit bolted by him, making straight for the Strike.

"Somebody Stop him!" Sharon cried out. The Strike's zipline was still down, and all it would take is a single button press to get into the cockpit. The red clad figure suddenly found himself falling head over heels, tumbling across the grass, thanks to a well-timed extension of the foot courtesy of Mirialla Haw herself. She proceeded to start kicking him in the side.

"Ow! Ow! Okay! Okay I give!" the figure cried, the helmet coming off to reveal Keijiro. He tried to sit up, wincing at the pain in his ribs. "Damn, you've got a mean kick, girl! That takes a lot of guts to kick Keijiro Mishima like that."

"Don't even think of moving!" Sharon hissed, sticking her gun right in Keijiro's face, inches from his left eye. "I have nothing against Coordinators personally, but you and the rest of your ZAFT buddies just killed quite a few of my friends just now. Not to mention making off with all our hard work. I have a half a mind to kill you right now!" It was then that she slammed the butt of the gun in his face,

"I'm tellin' you people I'm not with ZAFT!"

Murrue messaged her temples. She never wanted to shoot anybody more now. The ZAFT soldier who was KO-ed by Sharon a couple of minutes ago woke up. He hadn't stopped talking ever since… He'd denied allegations of being a ZAFT soldier despite the overwhelmingly red evidence he wore on his person. You couldn't catch a criminal more red handed if he were dipped in evil intent and sent into town with a death ray. With that in mind… Why didn't she put a bullet in his head? She supposed she was much too nice for her own good.

"Yeah right…" Tolle sitting on the red's back to restrain him snorted derisively. "If that's so, why're you wearing that uniform? Nobody who's not in ZAFT would dream of wearing that."

"Duh, Asshole!" The ZAFT soldier said loudly. Murrue could imagine him rolling his eyes. He explained to him as if he were a tad simple. "That's 'cause I stole it! The guy wearing it didn't need it anymore! Bein' dead and all! I was lucky to find 'im… He was the only guy who didn't shit himself. Guy was smart enough to evacuate himself beforehand. He didn't wanna embarrass himself when he came home in a pine box, I guess." He shrugged under Tolle's weight. Tolle made a disgusted face. Murrue felt her own stomach turn. She hoped this brat was lying. His story was simply too screwed up for words.

"If I could, Rusty Mckenzie…" The 'ZAFT' soldier continued sadly. "I'd salute ya right now… You were obviously not a total douche bag. Not like some dicks who call themselves friends. 'I'll pick you up when ZAFT attacks' my finely tanned ass." He did a mocking interpretation of some else's voice. It was high pitched and dumb sounding. "'We can't do this, Keijiro. That's wrong…'. You'd think he was my effin' conscience or somethin'." He said in a low growl. "I swear I'll kick his douche bag ass all the way to…"

"Wait…" Miriallia spoke up, cutting him off all together. "You're Keijiro aren't you? Yukimasa's friend?"

"Huh?" The restrained soldier tilted his head slightly. "How d'ya know my name, hot stuff?"

Tolle scowled. He punched Keijiro in the arm. Keijiro would've stifled a few choice words of his if he were the type with a clean mouth. "Her name is Miriallia Haw, dufus. She's my girl so keep the smooth talk to a minimum."

"Fair enough." Keijiro allowed. He scowled under his helmet. "You've got a lot of balls hittin' Keijiro Mishima like that. I think I like you…" He added with a snuggery sweet voice. "Get off me and I'll be your best friend."

"Not a chance, Mister ZAFT…" Tolle said simply. "If I let you go… Well, I dunno what might happen. Just because you're Yukimasa's friend doesn't mean you're gonna get off. To think you were with ZAFT this entire time… You ought to be ashamed of yourself using your friend to infiltrate our home."

"I told ya I'm not with ZAFT!" Keijiro snapped once again. Murrue wondered if this dumb kid knew how to do an inside voice. "I stole this smelly assed suit from a dead guy. Besides-"

"Where's the truck?" Murrue groaned out of pure irritation. She was starting to get a headache from Keijiro's incessant babbling. She got from the bench she sat on and walked forward a dozen paces. She furiously squinted at the distance… It didn't make the truck come any faster. "I sent them out to get it fifteen minutes ago… What's taking them so long?"

Suddenly, things got very quiet. Murrue grabbed her gun… Did the ZAFT Soldier escape? Instead of getting violent, Murrue raised an eyebrow at the strange interaction going on before her eyes.

"Thank you!" Keijiro exclaimed happily. Tolle slipped the red helmet off his head, revealing a black colored mane of red splotched hair. Not all of it was the dark red highlights going along jagged paths in his hair. He looked up at them with big yellow cat like eyes framed by a tan face. A messy goatee sprouted around his equally dirty mouth. The fingers of black flames from a tattoo unseen thanks to the space suit's collar licked at his neck. For his age, he was a very big boy. He was almost about the size of a full grown man. A lot of things about this boy seemed to scream punk. If this kid was a ZAFT soldier, she was the Chief Representative of Orb.

Tolle held the helmet up to his face and grimaced. "God… You were right this thing smells like ass."

"And death…" Keijiro said humorlessly. Frowning deeply, he shook himself at the very thought of the smell. "I didn't clean all the brains out of there. Can somebody pick this shit outta of my hair? I think it might be settling into my scalp." He whined, practically begging for their help. Murrue never thought she'd hear the "legendary" Keijiro Mishima groveling. She heard rumors of a gang of Mishima "Yakuza" led by the just and strong Keijiro. They righted wrongs and brought the unjust to justice. Within the space of six months of him appearing, all the local gangs and known crime syndicates vanished off the face of the map. He either forced them to join his gang or spaced them. That was the rumor, anyhow… She never read anything in the paper about space based deaths recently. More than enough arrests were prominent. Just the other week a major crime boss visiting from Earth was jailed for possessing illegal goods. The newspaper credited the police with big break on the major case. The word on the street was the exact opposite. The aptly named Akumetsu, named by local Japanese store owner whose shop was saved from robbery by the vigilantes, were the real heroes. The name Akumetsu quickly caught on for the people of Heliopolis. The "Destroyers of Evil" or Akumetsu became a name synonymous with Justice, Hope, Peace, Goodness, and Fear. Justice for the criminals who threatened the Peace of society, Hope for those trapped in a darkening world at war, a boon to let people know there was still Goodness thriving in the world, and finally Fear for those outlaws hiding in the shadows possibly thinking of sparking their recidivism.

Some people considered them heroes to be praised for their goodhearted efforts. Others had only scorn for them… thinking Akumetsu wasn't any better than the criminals they persecuted. Murrue kept out of the discussion when it was brought up in her local drinking hole. She didn't want to get into it… It wasn't her home. No matter how much she wanted this peaceful haven to be just that.

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment. She took a moment to get her head back in the game. Once again, Murrue Ramius was composed for business. She left the weird sight of Tolle scratching Keijiro's multicolored head for the kneeling Strike. Maybe the X-105 was an eerie thing to witness itself. Murrue never thought she would see Natural use combat mobile suits come into being. Yet, here it was before her kowtowing to her like she was royalty. Weirder still… Her theoretical enemy was piloting her titanic knight. Murrue wished the irony had failed to reach her.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, she thought to herself. Just take it one step at a time, Murrue. Just take it one step at a time. It was a mantra she'd used over and over again until she finally settled her uneasy mind. "Alright…" She breathed in and out. "Time to let your officer training take control."

She hoped to Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit nobody heard her right then. Last thing she needed to show to these children was weakness. She was the final wall between them and complete destruction. She felt confidence flowing through her again. She hoped her reassurances instilled a permanent firmness inside her.

"Kira!" She called up to his perch in the Strike. All she could hear for a moment was furious typing. It was good to know someone else other than her was doing their job. "Can you try and make contact with allied forces again? There has to be somebody alive out there!"

A weary "Yes, ma'am" was all she got from him. Considering the way Sharon had coerced these young people into helping the two Earth Alliance officers, a weary answer was the best Murrue could continue to hope for.

They looked up to see the colony's central shaft shake. "This place has taken a lot of serious damage. I don't think it's going to last much longer." Murrue said. "We need to establish contact with the _Archangel_ and now." She silently wondered if things could get any worse, only for an explosion to bloom on the shaft. A ZGMF-515 CGUE painted brilliant white flew out, followed by a TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero mobile armor. The two machines began exchanging fire.

"Get one of those weapon packages loaded right now!" Sharon cried to Kira, who quickly began preparing. He looked inside the trailer to see a weapons pod that seemed to go on one of the Strike's shoulder mountings containing a six barreled Gatling gun and a pair of gun launchers, along with a very large cannon. He wasted little time in putting the weapon pod on the right shoulder, and was happy to see his energy meter refill with the cannon attached.

The white CGUE dove on their position, firing its machine gun. Kira raised the cannon, not able to hear the joint warnings from Murrue and Sharon. He squeezed the trigger, a massive orange and blue beam erupted, streaking across the sky toward the CGUE, which barely managed to get out of the way. The beam smashed into the colony wall, leaving a gaping hole as air began rushing out. "Uh…oops?" Kira said.

In the cockpit of the CGUE, ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset could only gape in disbelief at the show of firepower the new mobile suit had given just now. His face was obscured by the narrow mask he wore, but if the way his lips twisted in concern was anything to go by, he had reached the conclusion that this last mobile suit was incredibly dangerous. He turned his machine, making for the hole to regroup.

"Why don't you think before messing with something you don't know how it works, you dumbass!" Keijiro snapped, before his eyes fell on the gaping hole in the colony interior. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be blamed for this one?"

It was then another explosion rocked the colony, forcing everyone to stay on their feet. A majestic starship entered the colony interior from the harbor. The lighting of the colony reflected off the white hull plating. The EAS _Archangel_ really did resemble the Celestial Being it was named for.


	3. In the Remains of a Fallen Star

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Gundam Seed Fated Shift: Rearmed

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

In the Remains of a Fallen Star

(Remains of Heliopolis Space Colony, L3, January 26th, C.E. 71)

It was a sad sight to behold, the once majestic space colony known as Heliopolis had been reduced to a massive spread of assorted debris. In time it would slowly scatter across all of the Earth Sphere. "What a fucking waste." Tatsuo Mishima remarked, settled in the command chair of the ONS _Kagutsuchi_ , the sixth vessel of the _Izumo_ -class that served as the mobile headquarters for Mishima Security Consulting. "I always thought there was something twisted about the White Meteor, but this takes it to a whole new level."

"It seems very illogical that ZAFT would use D-package weaponry here?" A young woman with short blonde hair and ice blue eyes said in a low, emotionless voice. "I can't imagine the Supreme Council would let Rau Le Creuset off with just a minor infraction."

"It shouldn't be that much of a surprise, Alissa." Tatsuo got up from his seat, taking out a cigarillo, putting it in his mouth before lighting it up. "Rau is ZAFT's best space commander, he's protected by no one less than Patrick Zala himself. He can't be touched." His thoughts fell on a young man with dark hair and blood red eyes. "I wonder if the kid made it out in one piece."

"I cannot determine if Yukimasa is present or not at this time, Captain." Alissa said.

"It was a rhetorical question, Alissa." Tatsuo snapped, rolling his eyes in annoyance, wishing she wasn't always so literal minded. "You didn't need to answer it." He tapped his foot in irritation, as the vessel continued to roam about the debris field. "I've had enough. Prep my GINN, I want to inspect that place more closely." Tatsuo put out his cigarillo and departed for the hangar.

He didn't bother with a flight suit, instead just hopping into his custom ZGMF-1017 GINN, colored a deep brown trimmed in silver. Tatsuo reasoned he was going to be dead one way or another. He strapped himself in, bringing the mobile suit on line. "Tatsuo Mishima, heading out! Try not to empty out the entire fridge until I get back okay?" He remarked, eliciting laughter from his crew. The GINN launched off the catapult and into space, heading into the interior of ravaged colony.

"I seriously doubt Uzumi's getting back his security deposit on this place." Tatsuo remarked, recalling the billions the space colony had been to construct. He explored for a few more minutes, but all he could find was dust and echoes. "Oh, this is getting to be fucking pointless! There's nothing out here at all!" He was about to head back to the ship when his radar suddenly beeped at him.

Tatsuo immediately gunned the engines, zeroing in on the mysterious signature. It took him through the resource asteroid. He found a mobile suit in one of the crevices, but it was nothing like his GINN, or any ZAFT mobile suit at all. It was mostly white with the torso, arms, and legs colored a deep green. "The Green Frame…at least one of them is still intact." Tatsuo keyed his radio to an Orb frequency. "Attention Green Frame, this is Tatsuo Mishima, please respond."

"What? No! You weren't supposed to be here!" A panicked voice rang out. Tatsuo's eyes narrowed, he knew the owner of the voice very well.

"Junpei Kato, you better show your sorry face right now!" The sight of the students' former professor, wearing a spacesuit, seeming to be madly typing on the keyboard, greeted Tatsuo. "Kato, you little piece of shit, were you even going to let us know one of the prototypes was still here?"

"Maybe…" Kato managed weakly.

"Then let's go back to the ship, that way we can chat about the old days. You like our chats right?" His voice seemed pleasant on the surface, but anyone who knew Tatsuo Mishima well enough would immediately clap their hands together in prayer for the unfortunate soul that was in his crosshairs. It rarely ended well for them!

It was then that Alissa's voice came on the radio. "Captain Mishima. We located an emergency distress beacon. I believe it may be one of the Heliopolis escape pods. Shall I send out the other mobile suits to retrieve it?"

"Sure, I'm bringing back a…guest." Tatsuo sneered. "In fact, tell the guys…it's time to play our favorite game!"

(EAS _Archangel_ , Captain's Office, En route to Artemis, January 27th, C.E. 71)

"No way, it is not happening at all!" Murrue adamantly shook her head, much to the amusement of both Sharon and Lieutenant Mu La Flaga. "Mr. Mishima can remain in the brig for as long as he feels like. He tried to make off with Atlantic Federation military property. He's lucky that I was unconscious when he tried to steal the Strike or I would have killed him straight away on general principle!"

"I know how it sounds Captain, but I assure you Keijiro isn't that big of a threat. He's not our enemy." Yukimasa sighed. "He's just a Grade A idiot, and a complete coward…who intended to leverage ZAFT into letting him escape by grabbing one of the G-weapons to save his own worthless ass." He shook his head. "Why I put up with him is beyond me."

It had been two days since fleeing from Heliopolis. Two days since Yukimasa's entire world had come unglued. It had all started when a majestic looking ship came out of the harbor.

 _(Heliopolis Space Colony, L3, January 25_ _th_ _, C.E. 71)_

 _Everyone could only gaze in awe at the_ Archangel _, Sharon looked on in admiration at the Earth Alliance's newest vessel. She had seen the schematics for the ship, but they were nothing compared to the sight of the actual vessel hovering over their heads. "So that's the end result huh? I have to admit, I can help make a pretty good ship when I'm really pressed to."_

 _She looked to where Murrue was being tended by Mirailla. While Keijiro was sitting on the ground, hands tied behind his back. Kira and the other students were readying the Strike. The shapely pinkette put a hand on her hip; she was about to say something to Murrue when the sound of a mobile suit assaulted everyone's ears. "Damn it, kids take cover, Kira get ready!" Sharon cried out._

 _But before anyone could do anything, a second mobile suit had swooped in for a landing. It resembled the Strike on many levels, even sharing the same color scheme, most of the structure was white with the torso and shoulders a deep blue, and the hips and feet trimmed in red. Unlike the other G-Weapon it was much sleeker, and aerodynamic. Mounted on the right arm was what appeared to be a massive, folded up blade._

 _No one was sure what to expect, doubly so when the hatch in the chest opened, revealing Yukimasa, who looked somewhat rattled. "Wow…that thing really moves. I'll need to be more careful about I handle this thing in the future." He rode the cable down, walking up to the others. "Hey guys, sorry if I kept you worrying."_

 _"Wha…what is that?" Murrue finally got out, pointing to the new mobile suit. "I didn't know there was going to be a sixth G-Weapon!"_

 _"Oh that?" Yukimasa said, looking back to the mobile suit he had found in the hangar Ghina had pointed him to. "Uh, it's the GAT-X100 Masamune Gundam, according to the boot-up screen." He squared his shoulders, looking Murrue and Sharon in the eyes. "Uh, did either of you ladies know about this extra G-Weapon that was just lying around? Beceause I certainly don't recall it being part of the deal."_

 _"I was just about to ask you that." Sharon said, appraising the machine herself. "Because I certainly don't recall that being part of our deal with Morgenroete." It was around that moment that the Archangel finally came in for a landing on a large field not too far from them. "What do you think, Murrue? I mean, given what happened to the other machines."_

 _The brunette just groaned. "Just get it on board! I don't want to wait around for Le Creuset to come back again." The Strike and the Masamune were quickly loaded on board the_ Archangel _, joined by the Moebius Zero of Mu La Flaga. Even with the addition of the strange new mobile suit, the_ Archangel _was still heavily outmanned and outgunned. The subsequent battle saw Heliopolis fall apart due to the White Meteor's decision to use bunker buster D-Package type weaponry in the colony itself._

 _The Strike and Masamune had been adrift amongst the rubble, both Kira and Yukimasa were shaken from the total destruction caused by the missiles going off. "D-did that really happen?" Yukimasa wasn't sure he wanted to believe it._

 _"It's gone…it was so fragile." The Hawk of Endymion's voice came through on the speaker. Mu's Zero had been damaged and was unable to sortie, so he had taken charge of the_ Archangel's _Combat Information Center. "You kids might want to come back to the ship. I don't think we can do any more around here."_

 _"Wait a second, I'm picking something up! Kira said, noting a faint signal on his radar. "Hang on, I'm going to check it out." Without any protest from Mu or the other senior officers, the Strike's engines ignited and jetting toward the source of it. Yukimasa sighed, taking off after his friend. They found an adrift escape pod. "Hey, we can take it back with us!" Kira said._

 _"Ease off the throttle, Kira." Yukimasa said, keying the radio. "Uh, we have a situation over here. We found one of the emergency escape pods and it contains civilians. From where I'm standing it looks like it was damaged with the colony came apart. Is it too much trouble if we bring it aboard?" One of the officers, Ensign Natarle Badgriguel, had fervently denied it, but had been overruled by both Murrue and Sharon._

 _So it was that the Strike and Masamune had dragged the escape pod back to the ship, and the civilians were being unloaded. Yukimasa watched, silently grateful that Murrue had been kind enough to let them come aboard. He caught sight of a flash of pink and red. He cracked a grin, watching as his girlfriend emerged from the pod.  
Kicking off the ground, he floated over to the pod. "Flay! Over here, sweetheart!" He called out, waving his arms to try and catch her attention. The redhead turned, a wide smile crossing her face, it was clear she was just as a relieved as he was to see him alive. She floated up to him, giving him a colossal hug that sent them soaring across the hangar. She kept her iron grip around his midsection. _

_"Oh, I'm so happy to see you're okay." Flay said, taking in her surroundings. It was then she caught sight of the Strike and Masamune. "What's going here, Yukimasa? Did you know about all this?" The redhead asked. "And what's with those mobile suits? Is this…a ZAFT ship?" She indicated to the machine standing behind him._

 _He wasn't sure how to respond to his girlfriend's question. "I might have." He admitted, his shoulders sagged. "I suppose I have some explaining to do. Once we get everything worked out, I'll tell you everything. If anyone deserves to know the truth. I suppose it's you. Just…don't be too angry all right?" Usually he found it cute when the redhead got angry, but Yukimasa had the feeling if he wasn't completely truthful with her this time around, it would be the equivalent of sleeping on the couch if they were married. "How about we find somewhere private?"_

 _Taking Flay by the hand, he led her out of the hangar, down the winding corridors of the_ Archangel _. The scent of the perfume she was wearing a strident contrast between the harsh antiseptic smell of the freshly polished corridors. They found a viewport that looked out onto the vast expanse of space. "So…are you going to tell me or not?" She folded her arms._

 _Yukimasa sighed, his red coat fluttering as he floated up against the wall, arms folded. "The truth is, Flay, this vessel and the mobile suits in the hangar are the end result of a joint project between the Atlantic Federation and Orb Union. The AF government came to us because no one knows more about Mobile Suits than Morgenroete. And yes I did have a hand in their development. It's very complicated."_

 _"Oh, by all means…enlighten me." Flay glared. And so Yukimasa launched into his story. By the end, the redhead was in disbelief. Her hand came up to her heart, feeling how rapidly it was beating. "I can't believe it…you're…an inspector of some kind?" Yukimasa nodded, gently taking hold of her hand._

 _"Yeah, I'm a Colonel with Orb Strategic Security. I was sent here to make sure everything went smoothly. I'm actually a pretty good engineer and programmer, so I offered my expertise in preparing the software for it. At least, that was my role on the surface, I was also sent to provide security for the project. I don't need to tell you what would happen if ZAFT got wind of what we were doing."_

 _"Yeah." Flay didn't need to be told any further, give what had just happened. "Who all knows about this?"_

 _The red-eyed young man sighed. "Your father for starters…" He was sorely tempted to whip his phone out to take a picture of his girlfriend's face. "No, you heard right. Foreign Minster Allster was the one who helped set the whole deal up with my nation. He's been acting as a liaison between Admiral Halberton and myself." He walked a short distance away, not able to look Flay in the face "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Flay. But it had be kept quiet. Unfortunately, it still ended up blowing up in our collective faces."_

 _"So what happens now?" Flay asked, worriedly._

 _"I don't know yet. I'll have to speak to the lady in charge. After that, we'll see." Yukimasa said._

After his talk with Flay, Keijiro had been thrown into the brig on charges of stealing of Atlantic Federation military property. Yukimasa was still trying to convince Murrue to release him, but so far she wasn't budging. He had gotten to know the brown haired Lieutenant fairly well when they were working on the G-weapons, and she was clearly unhappy with this turn of events. "Can you explain to me just how this happened, Mr. Sahaku? Orb was supposed to be providing security for the project and still ZAFT got word of it!"

"People in Washington are going to be asking questions." Natarle Badgiurel snapped. "It's obvious that it was that Keijiro character. He tried to steal the Strike and all but admitted he was going to try and turn it over to ZAFT to save his own worthless ass! I have a half a mind to introduce him to the airlock!"

"Just take it easy there, Ensign. I doubt Orb would take kindly to us spacing one of their citizens." Mu said. The Hawk of Endymion had quickly settled into the peacemaker role among the four Earth Alliance officers, Sharon herself was just standing off to the side buffing her nails. The busty pinkette had said nothing, content to let everyone work it out of their respective systems.

"We can point fingers later, Nattie. Right now we need to find a safe haven." Sharon sighed. "Even with what we off loaded before we departed. Our supplies are really low. So we can't waste time arguing, can we Ensign?" The dark haired officer just snorted. Yukimasa figured that was about as good a time as any to get the hell out of dodge.

He went down to the hangar where the Masamune was sitting in the docking slip meant for the Duel. Shrugging, he decided it was time to check out the capabilities of his new toy. He climbed in the Masamune's cockpit. He whistled in appreciation at the myriad of images flickering before his eyes. "I have to give Kato credit, he knew how to make a nice mobile suit. He's on par with the likes of Ralph Eifman and Erica herself." Yukimasa clicked over to the weapons menu, giving an appreciative whistle at what he found. "In addition to the main beam rifle/sword on the arm, it's got 75mm Igelstellung CIWS in the arms. A pair of beam sabers mounted on the rear shoulders, beam daggers on the lower hips."

He looked closer, noting a pair of slots that seemed to be dimmed. "And it looks like it was meant to have a couple of other weapons as well…a pair of physical blades, one long and one short, equipped with Trans-Phase Armor. But I didn't see anything like that when I found it. I suppose I'll just have to ask Erica about it when I get this thing back to Orb."

His eyes narrowed slightly when he checked just how many other mobile suits were part of its series, seeing the model numbers. 'GAT-X131 Calamity, GAT-X252 Forbidden, GAT-X370 Raider, GAT-X134 Terminus, and GAT-X232 Renegade.' He banged his fist against the cockpit wall. "That son of a bitch…he developed a whole new series of Gundams apart from what we were working on? I guess I'll have to hunt them down later."

His eyes then fell on one feature of the Masamune. "Minus System? Oh, that doesn't sound ominous at all." Yukimasa muttered to himself, keying the menu, fingers flying over the keys. "Let's see what you can do." He frowned when he saw the system was locked. He tried inputting a few other commands, but he got the same message. "Hmm, I suppose it's not the most pressing issue at the moment right now."

Yukimasa shut down Masamune, and headed for the brig. He decided to go see Keijiro, and maybe talk some sense into his friend, but he wasn't holding his breath in that regard. He was lounging on the bed, smoking a cigarillio. "Where in the hell did you get that?" Yukimasa asked.

Keijiro gave a sheepish grin. "You don't wanna know dude. I mean seriously don't want to know where I hid this."

Yukimasa just shook his head, having a very good idea of where he had hidden it. He had been unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse down Keijiro's gaping maw of an ass crack once, and that had been once too often! "I can't believe you some times. Even when you're sitting in the clink, you decide it's time to get lit up." He began fanning the smoke out of his face. "Ugh, it doesn't help that it stinks to high heaven."

"You could always join me." Keijiro said, inhaling.

"Unlike you, I don't have the luxury. We could end up in combat at any moment. Le Creuset isn't going to give us the luxury since we have the Strike and Masamune onboard right now." Yukimasa insisted, wishing his best friend wasn't such a lazy idiot at times.

Keijiro just snorted. "Well, it's not my fault your old man decided to have the Heliopolis facility be the place where the Astray Frames and G-Weapons were constructed. We could have gotten away with this if it had happened at somewhere like say JOSH-A in Alaska or at Ptolemeaus on the Moon, but noooo, it had to be on Orb soil! It would be a given ZAFT would have come snooping around!"

"Okay, I'll give you that much." Yukimasa relented, even if Kejiro was a buffoon at times, he was far from clueless. "If we had stuck with just the Astray Project at Heliopolis, then we could have just said it was us building up our own forces. ZAFT wouldn't have even given it a second thought." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course this begs the question…how did ZAFT find out at all in the first place?"

"Yeah, we took every precaution possible. The project was as secure as it could get. The only ones who knew the truth amongst the Orb contingent were the two of us and…" The two of them looked at each other as they both came to the same conclusion, even uttering it simultaneously. "It was Kato…"

"That no good sack of shit!" Keijiro yelled. "I can't believe he'd sell us out like this!"

"I can." Yukimasa muttered, recalling the new series of mobile suits he had found in the Masamune's database. "I always thought there was something off about that guy."

(ONS _Kagutsuchi_ , Enroute to Ame-No-Mihashara)

The old saying goes that in space no one can hear you scream, but if one were to pass by the _Kagutsuchi_ , they could hear the sounds of faint screams of agony and pleas for mercy emanating from the hull. It begged the question just what was going on that would cause such a commotion. Any sane person would have just gone on their merry way, but for those who had to satisfy their curiosity, let's set the scene.

The room was dark. A single spotlight fell on a young man who bore a striking resemblance to Yukimasa. He held a microphone in hand. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the good ship _Kagutsuchi_!" He broke in a loud voice. "I know that spending weeks at a time in the vast dark ocean of space can be grating on one's nerves. But worry not! Because I've got the cure for what ail's ya!" He swept his arm out in a dramatic gesture. "It's that time again! It's time for!"

"Wheel! Of! Misfortune!" several voicesbellowed out at once. With that the lights came on, revealing the entire crew of the _Kagutsuchi_ , along with several civilians sitting in semi circle on cargo containers, crates, and whatever else was in the ship's cargo hold, while Junpei Kato was tied to a giant wheel behind Morinobu, looking outright terrified at what was to come. Alissa reached out giving the wheel a light tug, which sent the wheel spinning. Kato screamed in agony, silently praying to Haumea to end his suffering. He had heard of what Tatsuo Mishima did to his 'guests', and just desired Death's sweet embrace.

The man smirked. "That's right! I'm Morinobu Sanosuke Sahaku, and I'm your master of ceremonies for this humble contest. Joining us tonight is the esteemed Professor Junpei Kato, once one of Morgenroete Technologies' finest technical minds, but now, I'm afraid he's just another target! Allow me to introduce my special co-host for this edition, the lovely miss Cagalli Yula Attha!"

The blonde came out, looking equal parts mortified and enraged. Mori smirked, gently kissing her on the hand. "Welcome to Wheel of Misfortune, Cagalli. It's not every day we get someone like you on our humble ship. Perhaps you'd like to explain to our audience what earned Professor Kato a spin on the ol' wheel?" He handed her a tennis ball, and Cagalli's expression mirrored his.

"It's really quite simple…" She declared, never breaking eye contact, all the while throwing the ball from one hand to another. She walked up and down, enjoying his suffering. "It's because he betrayed our country!" It all happened so fast, it would have been difficult even for a Coordinator to see how fast Cagalli's wind up was, the ball flew straight and true, nailing Kato right between the legs. The Professor let out a high-pitched squeal of pain. Kuro stood a distance away in the shadows, wincing at his charge's perfect aim. He wondered why Cagalli never went out for any softball teams.

Cagalli stomped right up to Kato, and he flinched, fearing that she would hit him again. "Tell me right now, did it take you very long to decide to sell us out? Did you ever feel any regrets for betraying everything our country stands for? I have a half a mind to just shoot you on general principle, you no good fuck!" It was as far as she got when Mori gently pulled her away.

"Relax and breathe, Cagalli. We'll get the answers soon enough. We just need to take our time. Some of our guests take longer, but they always tell us what we want to know…always." Mori licked his lips as he said that last part. "And to our audience, you'll all get a chance to play a part! I'm certain it's better than sitting in that stuffy old escape pod waiting for you someone to come get you!"

The civilians couldn't argue with Mori's logic, all of them had sat in the escape pod for the better part of three hours. Cagalli had reluctantly revealed her identity to the other occupants, reassuring them that rescue would come. Everyone had seemed to take solace in her words. She hadn't expected said rescue to be Tatsuo's crew, but it was better than nothing. And after learning what Kato had been up to, she thought this was going to be very therapeutic!

"It's time for the first round!" Mori said. "So let's spin the wheel! Alissa, if you will!" The girl nodded, grabbing the wheel, giving it a hard spin. Kato went spinning around very fast. Mori grabbed Cagalli by the arm, pulling her to the side. "I should warn you, this is a splash zone!" Cagalli wondered what Mori meant, when Kato suddenly puked, spraying the area with thick, red chunky vomit!

"And I just had the floor waxed!" Tatsuo snorted, smoking his cigarillo. "I guess that's what happens when you have Mexican!"

All eyes were on the wheel as it finally, mercifully, came to a stop. Or at least, it would have merciful, but that's just now how Tatsuo and the boys rolled. The wheel was divided into numerous sections; each containing a humiliating activity the person attached to the wheel would have to endure. This was one of the more common punishments "Ah! It's time for tomato karaoke!" Mori declared, looking at where the wheel had stopped.

"The victim will have to face the dual indignity of not only being pelted with tomatoes, but also having to endure the horrendous singing of one of our guests! Pass out the tomatoes!" Mori bellowed, Kuro grinned watching as a few of the crew moved through the audience with boxes of tomatoes, and everyone was loading up for what was to come.

"And now, we have to choose the song!" Mori declared. He had to admit, this was one of the perks of being part of Tatsuo's crew. He was a natural showman, and always enjoyed getting to put people in their place. Another of the crew came up with an open shoebox filled with small slips of paper. "Let's see what we have to work with." He reached inside, coming out with a piece of paper. "Tonight's song is…'Nookie' by Limp Bizkit!" Everyone cheered.

Mori handed a second microphone to Cagalli. "Here you go, Lady Cagalli. Since you clearly have an issue with the good Professor. How about you take the stage?" The blonde mouthed 'what?' Mori leaned in close. "Oh come now, Cagalli. I know you have a lovely singing voice, I'm certain you'll entertain all of us…except maybe Kato. I do suggest you duck from time to time, if not to get hit in the face."  
She seemed reluctant to stand up there in front of everyone. Cagalli looked back to where Kato was still on the wheel. "Lady Cagalli, please I beg of you! This whole thing is a giant mistake!" Kato pleaded. "I was only trying to protect the Green Frame. I would never betray Orb!" Golden eyes narrowed, all of a sudden she didn't feel so bad.

"Don't hesitate to get him in the face!" She cried to the audience, taking a red baseball cap, putting it on her head. "It's everything he deserves! Alissa, hit the music!" With that, she began singing as Kato was spun on the wheel. His cries for someone to end his pathetic, meaningless existence were drowned out by Cagalli's singing as the audience pelted tomatoes at him, by the end he looked like he had taken a ride in an industrial sized washing machine with a bunch of tomatoes.

"Anyone want tomato soup?" Tatsuo said, lighting up yet another cigarillo. "Although I'm not sure if anyone would want to taste this batch, considering it's tainted by failure." Everyone laughed, for this was Tatsuo's contribution to the little game the crew played, after a round of humiliation, he'd throw out a smartass remark.

"Fuck you, Mishima!" Kato raged, only to be hit in the junk by another tennis ball courtesy of Tatsuo himself.

"What is your problem, Stupei?" Tatsuo snapped. "Can't you see there are women and children present? Don't you have any sense of common decency? You're a pathetic excuse of a man! Alissa, it's time to pick the next round!" Alissa gave a dutiful nod, sending the hapless professor on another round of dizzy twirling, although to his credit he didn't throw up this time. He paled when he saw what the wheel had chosen this time.

"Ah, it's time for Pictionary!" Mori sneered. "Always a crowd favorite. Everyone get a marker!"

(Twenty Minutes later)

A sobbing, broken Kato was brought down from the wheel, covered in head to toe with dicks drawn on him. It was all that the Pictionary round really consisted of. "Just make it stop, please!" he whined, having finally had enough, as he was sat down on a box. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Please, no more humiliation." Tatsuo just smirked, putting up a foot on the box, causing him to flinch.

"See, now was that so hard, JP? Look at the bright side, you could start a new career as a living billboard for Viagra, but I digress." Tatsuo leaned in close, eyes anything but merry. While Mori just stood off to the side, arms folded in front of him. "Start talking, and you better not leave anything out! If not, it's back on the wheel, and I'll be sure it stops on the lightning round."

"I was personally contracted by the Atlantic Federation government to begin working on a second series of Gundams for them, independent of Morgenroete." Kato spoke fast. "I had already completed one of the prototypes, the GAT-X100 Masamune. I sent the data about it and the other machines to the people in Washington." He bowed his head. "And then I sent the data to Rau Le Creuset. I made it possible for him to make off with four of the prototypes."

Cagalli was half tempted to punch Kato in the face, knowing that was the reason ZAFT had obliterated Heliopolis, but a firm hand on her shoulder kept her restrained. Kuro just gave her a gentle look. He had some questions to answer and he needed the man coherent to speak.

"What were you going to do with the Green Frame, Kato?" Kuro asked. "That machine is the rightful property of my family. I'm certain my brother Ghina would not be happy to find out it was stolen. And let me tell you he's even more ruthless than I am when it comes to people who steal from him."

"I was waiting for someone to pick me up." Kato stated. "I was trying to get to the PLANTs in order to meet up with an old friend of mine…" He swallowed hard.

"Who?" Mori snapped.

"Durandal, Gilbert Durandal!" Kato blurted out. "He and I go back a long way."

"Gilbert Durandal?" Kuro seemed surprised. "As in Doctor Gilbert Durandal, the PLANT Minister of Genetic Sciences? Doctor Gilbert Durandal, the geneticist who is currently in charge of the team trying to solve the Coordinator birth rate problems in the PLANTs? I wasn't aware you were associates with him."

Kato rapidly shook his head. "The one and the same. He would have the power to get me a cushy position in the PLANTs researching anything I wanted." He glared at Cagalli, his earlier humiliation forgotten. "And yes, Lady Cagalli, he offered me a very sizeable amount of money to retain my services. The director position should have gone to me, but I was passed over in favor of that bitch Simmons!" Kato's rant was cut short by yet another tennis ball to the groin, courtesy of Mori. "Why is it always there?" He whined, before slumping to the ground.

"Take him out of here!" Tatsuo snapped his fingers, and two of the crew dragged the stricken scientist to the sick bay. "Just make sure you don't fix his dick entirely. We don't want to taint the gene pool any more than it already is."

"Gilbert Durandal?" Kuro was in shock. "Who'd have that thought asshat, Kato, was buddies with him?"

"I've heard of his reputation. They called him a boy genius." Cagalli recalled reading a couple of articles about him over the Internet, and how he was a natural talent in his field. "How do you know him, Kuro?"

He just shrugged. "He's our family doctor. Has been since we were kids." Kuro considered this for a few minutes. "I get the impression Kato is still holding something back, something he doesn't want to reveal to us at all." He looked to his older brother. "What do you think, Mori?"

Mori just threw his head back, tossing his hair about as he did so. "I think we should be play it by ear for now. We can take Kato back to Orb and have him prosecuted, but I think this is worth investigating further. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, just keep doing what you're doing and protecting Cagalli."

"I would have done that anyway." Kuro said, putting an arm around Cagalli's waist.

(Crew Quarters, EAS _Archangel_ , L3, Artemis airspace, January 27th, C.E. 71)

Kira lounged on his bed. The young student was still trying to process the events of the last two days. It seemed like everything had happened so fast. One minute he had been lounging on the campus, doing his homework with Yui. The next minute he was crammed into the cockpit of the mobile suit known as the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam, fighting for his life, as well as that of his girlfriend and friends. He sighed, feeling Yui drape her slender arm over his waist, cuddling up to him, a gentle smile on her face. "You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kira said, stroking her cheek. He silently thanked Haumea that he had taken Tolle and Miriallia's offer for the blind date, otherwise he would have never fallen for Yui, and would probably have still been pining after Flay. The redhead was gorgeous, of that there was no doubt, but Yui Takamura had truly stolen his heart, not just with her beauty or her sharp mind, but her loving soul as well. "I'm just…tired is all. I never wanted this to happen."

"You couldn't have stopped this from happening, Kira. No one saw it coming." She blushed slightly. "Of course, you stood up for us by taking out the Strike and fighting off the GINNs. I didn't get the chance to say it then, but it was quite gallant of you. You were my hero." Kira straightened up a little bit, as Yui reached up to kiss him on the lips.

The two settled down on the bunk together, Kira rubbing Yui's back, happy to enjoy a quiet moment just for the two of them. A good thing since they both knew it wouldn't last long, especially since the White Meteor and his team were hot on their trail and would not rest until the Strike and Archangel were either destroyed or captured.

(Bridge)

Murrue was sitting in the command chair, watching as the massive asteroid slowly loomed up on them. Her mind had been racing ever since their mad dash from Heliopolis. There had been a very heated argument between her and the other officers about where to go with the colony's destruction. On the surface it seemed like common sense to head for Artemis, which was in close proximity to the colony.

However, Natarle had brought up things were rarely so simple, as the _Archangel_ had built under the strictest of secrecy, and due to the sudden attack, didn't even have any kind of IFF codes installed. Plus the ship was an Atlantic Federation vessel, and Artemis was an outpost of the Eurasian Federation. Despite the two nations being partners in the Earth Alliance, there was still a long time rivalry between them, and old feuds were difficult to put aside.

Still Murrue, Mu, and Sharon had overruled Natarle and plotted a course for the home of the fabled Umbrella of Artemis, the seemingly impenetrable Umbrella of Artemis. "Captain!" Sharon's voice shook Murrue from her musing. The busty Pinkette had taken over duties at communications. "We've got incoming heat signatures, it looks like those two ZAFT ships are closing in fast."

Murrue sighed. "I guess we couldn't expect them to just leave us alone." She sat up a little straighter, as the most ranking officer on the ship, Murrue had been made the _Archangel's_ master, and she had to take the lead. "Get all hands to battle stations. Contact Mr. Yamato and Mr. Sanada, tell them we're going to need them to launch with Lieutenant La Flaga in the Strike and Masamune."

(Crew Quarters)

The blaring of the alarm klaxon awoke Yukimasa with a start. After meeting with Kejiro, he returned to the quarters to get some rest. Flay had been curled up against him, the only sound had been that of her deep even breathing. It was quite soothing and he was about to join her in sleep when the alarms went off. The redhead sprung up at once. "What is that?" She screamed.

Murrue's voice came over the loudspeakers, giving Flay all the answers she needed. "We are now at Level One Battle Stations! All personnel to their posts." Yukimasa groaned in agitation. He was just about to nod off and now he was going to have to fight again. He gave Flay a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry, love. Sounds like I have to go to work. Don't worry, I'll be careful out there." He hopped out of his bed, heading for the hangar. He ran into Kira on the way. He could see the sorrow building in the other boy's eyes. "I guess we don't have a choice, huh? We've got to keep this ship safe otherwise we're all in trouble."

"I suppose you're right." Kira said, silently wishing he could just crawl into one of the bunks and ignore everything, but sadly it was not meant to be the case. He followed Yukimasa to the locker room, where he found a pair of light blue flightsuits that had been set out for them. The two began changing their clothes.

"Why they picked a color like this is beyond me." Yukimasa muttered to himself, having caught sight of the flightsuits for female pilots, which was an equally bright pink. A part of his mind silently contemplated wondering what Flay would look like wearing it, but quickly dismissed it, reasoning he would have time to fantasize about his girlfriend later when no one was trying to kill them.

The two young men entered the hangar with a grim determination, helmets under their arms. Mu was already present in his purple flightsuit, helmet also in hand. The Hawk of Endymion was making final checks on his Moebius Zero when he saw Kira and Yukimasa enter, he quickly made his way over to them. "You guys ready?" the ace asked.

"Yeah, although I have to wonder about the Earth Alliance's fashion sense." Yukimasa said, idly contemplating whether he could start juggling his helmet along with Kira's. "But enough of my wisecracks. I get that we've got some problems from ZAFT, so how about we just get to work and try and get ol' Metal Mask and his goons out of our hair? I left Flay in our quarters and I want to get back to our nap." He said, before heading for his machine.

Mu just cracked a grin. "We'll do the best we can." He remarked, clapping a hand on Kira's shoulder. "I imagine you'll want to get back to your girlfriend as well, huh kid?" He had caught sight of the two couples, noting how Kira and Yui had been seen holding onto each other, the protective gaze he had been giving everyone. "You and Miss Takamura seem very close. I can imagine she's very grateful to have someone like you as her boyfriend, always looking out for her."

Kira managed a small smile, recalling the fond memories he had made with Yui over the past few months, her gentle demeanor, the shy smiles she would give him and no one else. At the same time he thought of how strong she really was, not afraid to lay down the law during Kato's classes. And of course, whenever she was in the swimming pool, wearing her preferred blue and white one piece swimsuit, doing a gentle backstroke, leaving a slight wake behind her as she swam. "Yeah…you could say that." He said, an edge of conviction that hadn't been there before creeping in. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I couldn't protect her." Mu just gave a nod of approval, before heading to his mobile armor, while Kira went for the Strike.

It didn't take long for Yukimasa to bring the Masamune's systems online. He checked to make sure the Minus System was still secure, very nervous about just what it was. The Masamune headed for the starboard catapult while the Strike made for port, seconds behind the Hawk of Endymion's Moebius Zero.

Yukimasa made one last check of his machine's systems. "Yukimasa Ikari, Masamune, taking off!" Having been used to taking off from the Kaguya Mass Driver back home, the _Archangel's_ linear catapult was a gentle push. The metallic tunnel of the ship's launch deck quickly passed, and all he could see was the void of space. He caught sight of two ZAFT ships, the _Nazca_ -class destroyer, PSV _Vesalius_ , and the _Laurasia_ -class frigate, PSV _Gamow_. The ships attached to the team of Commander Rau Le Creuset, the White Meteor.

He could see the points of light emerging from the two ships, and he knew exactly what was coming out. "Those ZAFT bastards, using my own creations against us? Well, if they want a fight." Red eyes flickered over to the folded blade on the right arm. "I'll be happy to give it to them!" He gunned his engines as he made for the other G-weapons.

A blue and gray shape slowly emerged from the void. "The Duel! So you want a rematch then, pal?" Yukimasa quipped. He raised the Masamune's right arm, firing the beam rifle that made up part of his machine's primary weapon, letting loose a flurry of emerald beams. The blue and gray Gundam raised its shield, letting the rounds that weren't avoided dissipate on the slab of anti-beam coated metal. "Those redcoats are the real deal it seems." He remarked, having long heard of the skill that came from ZAFT's most elite pilots.

"It's that new mobile suit from earlier!" Yzak sneered, opening fire with his own beam rifle, popping off a grenade as well, only for the other mobile suit to neatly evade everything the Duel threw at it. His ice blue eyes goggled at the raw speed the Masamune possessed. The way the machine moved was so fluid. Yzak could swear it almost seemed human.

"Okay, time to take this to the next level!" Yukimasa said, bringing the hybrid weapon up, shifting it to blade mode. He swept it in a wide arc, watching as a trail of glowing blue particles swept across it, a slight gleam catching along the razor sharp edge.

( _Archangel_ , Hangar)

Kira didn't have Yukimasa's attitude as he settled down in the Strike's cockpit. He was still uncomfortable with the prospect of combat, but then he thought of what Mu had said to him. The image of the girl he loved came to mind. His hands clenched, Yui had been the best thing to ever happen to him, and it would be a cold day in hell before he let any harm come to her. He wasn't expecting to see Yui's face come on his monitor. "I'll be acting as your mission support from here on out. Strike, prepare for launch. Equipping Aile Pack now."

He could the see equipment coming out of the walls, the beam rifle and accompanying shield retracted out of the wall and into his hands. The thruster pack descended from the ceiling, attaching to the hard points on the Strike's back. The Phase Shift Armor blurred to life, coloring the entire unit white, while the torso became a brilliant blue, trimmed in red. Yui winked at him. "Make me proud." She whispered.

"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam, heading out!" the familiar lurch of the linear catapult sent the mighty war machine into the heart of the fray. He felt a great weight fall on him when he caught sight of a red mobile suit, approaching him. A mobile suit piloted by someone he knew quite well. His mind flashed back to Helipolis, where he had a very unlikely reunion with an old friend.

"Athrun…" He breathed, hands curling around control grips, as the image of a young with dark blue hair and emerald green eyes, wearing the red flight suit of a ZAFT elite pilot came to mind. Reluctantly, Kira raised his beam rifle, watching as the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam readied its own weapon. The two began weakly firing at each other, circling about in a halfhearted manner.

One could almost tell neither wanted to fight each other. Within the cockpit of the stolen Aegis, Lieutenant Athrun Zala was approaching the fight with equal trepidation. He had no clue that his long time friend would have been present on the colony. He couldn't fathom why Kira would have defended the Earth Alliance officer he was about to kill in order to avenge Rusty's death. He narrowed his eyes. "Kira, I don't know why you're doing this, but if you can see the Naturals are using you, then maybe we can forget this ever happened."

A golden blade of synthetic lightning erupted from the Aegis's right arm as Athrun activated one of the wrist mounted beam sabers, Kira went for a saber of his own, taken from the Aile pack, the two glowing weapons intersected. "Athrun…" Kira whispered. He opened fire with the CIWS, the 75mm shells bounced off the Phase Shift Armor. It would appear that this battle would continue to move slowly.

(Artemis Airspace)

Yzak had thought this unknown mobile suit would have been an easy mark, after all, how good could a Natural be compared to a Coordinator? But Yukimasa was about to prove the white haired redcoat wrong. He wound up with a back handed strike, locking blades with the Duel, who had gone for one of the ES01 beam sabers mounted on the back. The blade of frozen fire strained against the metal, he noted with surprise what appeared to be a thin field of energy surrounding the weapon.

Yzak couldn't believe his eyes. The initial appearance of this unknown mobile suit had caught the entire squad off guard. However, he had been certain that his beam saber would have turned the large blade his opponent was carrying into a molten stump. He hadn't expected the blade to actually deflect his saber. The Masamune's leg whipped out, catching the Duel in the chest.

Yzak struggled to get his mobile suit back under control as it tumbled end over end through space. He managed to right himself, only to find Yukimasa barreling right at him, firing his beam rifle, emerald beams managing to catch the Duel in the left shoulder, right leg, and hip. "You bastard!" he raged, blasting away madly.

"Wow, this guy is a real hothead." Yukimasa remarked, using his machine's superior speed and agility to dodge and weave. He decided it was time to make use of some of his mobile suit's other features, beginning with the wrist mounted CIWS. Much to his amazement, and Yzak's dismay, it turned out that the Masamune's vulcans were beam rather than shell based, as small emerald bursts began spitting out from the barrels.

The white haired Joule heir snarled, madly trying to avoid getting pelted by the tiny beams, clenching the shield, but the small bursts still managed to find their mark, scoring tiny hits all along the Duel's super structure from head to metallic toe. "Why you!" Yzak raged, returning fire with his beam rifle. The Masamune just continued to dance in and out, while firing back with his own weapon.

( _Archangel_ , Bridge)

Murrue settled in her command chair, watching as the four captured G-weapons engaged the Strike, and Masamune, while the Moebius Zero veered in another direction toward the enemy carriers. "Ensign Badguiruel, ready all weapons, load missile tubes with Wombats and Sledgehammers, and have the Gottfrieds and Valiants. In addition, have the…" She hesitated. "Have the Lohegrins brought to standby mode and begin charging up." Murrue's command drew attention from everyone.

"Wow, you're not holding back at all, are you, Murrue?" Sharon remarked. The Lohegrin positron cannons were the most powerful weapons in the _Archangel's_ arsenal, firing powerful streams of antimatter capable of ripping apart a target on the molecular level. "You really think they're going to be necessary?"

"Not against the Gundams, but if Lieutenant La Flaga's plan works, it would be a great change to take out the _Vesalius_ and Le Creuset with it." Murrue's eyes narrowed. She knew the reputation of the White Meteor all too well, having learned it from her mentor, Rear Admiral Lewis Halberton, considered by many to be the Earth Alliance's answer to Commander Rau Le Creuset. The two had actually had the chance to match wits earlier in the war during the Battle of Nova, which had ended in a stalemate. But Halberton said he could have won against Rau.

The Hawk of Endymion had proposed launching a sneak attack on the _Vesalius,_ taking his Zero through the debris field and hitting them from behind, hopefully it would be enough to dissuade ZAFT from pursuing them at least for a little while, long enough for them to get to the Moon, or even to Alaska. Murrue's hand clenched into a fist, as she offered a silent prayer to the Hawk of Endymion. "Come on, Lieutenant!"

(Artemis Airspace, Strike vs Aegis)

Kira and Athrun were still exchanging shots; neither of them seemed to be willing to make an aggressive move. The Aegis dodged to the side, emerald rounds bouncing off its shield. "Kira, please, can't you see the Naturals are using you?" Athrun tried to reason with his old friend, "Why are you fighting for the Earth Alliance to begin with?" The Strike and Aegis locked blades, Kira slashed upwards.

"I didn't join the Earth Alliance officially, Athrun. I'm only doing this to protect my friends onboard the _Archangel_ …not to mention my girlfriend as well!" Kira stated. His eyes narrowed slightly, while he was hesitant to fight against his brother all but in blood, for Yui he would have taken on the whole might of ZAFT itself.

As for Athrun, his eyes widened at the mention of 'girlfriend'. He had always known Kira to be very quiet and shy as a boy, and hadn't ever considered he'd fall for a girl. He put the thought aside, "Be that it may, you're still going against your own kind!" He took note of the Aegis's battery, the indicator stating he was at about forty-one percent. He could continue for a little bit longer. "If you're not going to listen to reason, I'll have to get tough then!"

He put his rifle aside, igniting both beam sabers. "I'm going to bring you back with me one way or another!" It was a desperate plan, but Athrun reasoned it could work, if he could run down the Strike's battery, it would leave the mobile suit powerless and then he could bring it and Kira back to the _Vesalius_ and they could straighten this whole thing out. Kira wasn't prepared for the sudden onslaught from his friend, but he didn't stay that way for long.

Kira opened fire with his beam rifle, squeezing off a barrage of rounds, only to be met by Aegis's beam saber, cutting through the upper part of the Strike's beam shield, leaving a molten gap. He ignited a beam saber, going for close range combat. So focused on fighting him, he didn't notice that his battery power was rapidly dwindling.

(Artemis Airspace)

Dearka and Nicol were currently engaging the legged ship, madly avoiding getting hit by the CIWS and any missiles. The blonde haired sniper joined his weapons together, firing a round that managed to connect on the lower part of the white vessel's hull, smoke beginning to billow out into the void. At the same time, the GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam was firing its beam rifle.

"The Earth Alliance's new ship just will not die!" Nicol remarked, firing a few more rounds, while nearly avoiding being torn up by a barrage of Helldarts. It was equal parts admirable and irritating that the ship was taking so long to sink. The youngest of the Le Creuset Team's redcoats looked to where Athrun and Yzak were facing off with their respective opponents. "Should we help them out?" Nicol wondered.

"You heard what the commander said, we need to lure the ship into the range of the _Vesalius's_ weapons." Dearka replied as he snapped off another round, punctuated with a barrage of missiles from the Buster's shoulder mounted launchers. "Yzak seems to have developed a mad boner against the pilot of that one mobile suit, and I don't know what Athrun's problem is. Let's just do what's been asked of us."

Nicol gave no reply, wondering about the people onboard the legged ship. He had nothing against Naturals in general, and wondered if they were just trying to do their jobs, same as his teammates. He looked to where Athrun was fighting the Strike, recalling what had been confided in him, how the pilot of the white and blue machine was in fact a Coordinator like him. "I hope that nothing happens to you, Mr. Yamato. I'd like to meet you under better circumstances than this."

( _Vesalius_ , Bridge)

"The Legged Ship is in range, Captain. Our main cannons are primed and ready to fire on your order, sir." For Captain Ades it couldn't come sooner. There was something about that ship that made him very uneasy, and the sooner it was blasted out of the sky, the better.

"Very well, we are going to finish this in one fell swoop!" Rau declared, it was then he felt a familiar pressure building in his skull, a feeling he had encountered many times before. "La Flaga?" Was all he had to time to say before the entire ship began rocking from multiple impact. The weapon operators began madly chatting, the CIWS spooling up.

It was that moment that the orange craft erupted from the debris field, giving it a predatory look that made its pilot's name seem all the more fitting. "A little present from me to you, Rau! Let it be said I never gave you anything!" Mu La Flaga smirked, opening fire with his main linear cannon, the wired gunbarrels spooled out, beginning to rake alone the entire ventral surface of the _Vesalius_.

Mu grinned beneath his helmet, the entire underside of the ship had been gutted, and wouldn't be bothering them for a while at least. Satisfied with his handiwork, The Hawk of Endymion used the Zero's grapple tether to make a hard about face, looping back toward the _Archangel_. He reeled the wired gunbarrels back in.

"Give me a damage report right now, Ades!" Rau barked to his flag captain, as emergency lights began flashing on, bathing the entire bridge in an angry red color that reflected off of his mask, giving him an evil appearance.

"It appears the number five sodium wall has been damaged." Ades reported, wincing at the multitude of damage reports rapidly coming in. "There are fires on all decks. The port side engine has been take out as well. The damage is extensive sir. There is no way we can take the legged ship in our current state. We'll need some serious time in drydock to repair everything."

Rau frowned, his fists clenched as he cursed the Hawk of Endymion, vowing he'd pay him back for this. "I suppose we have no choice then, call our mobile suits back, we may have to leave the _Gamow_ behind to continue the pursuit without us, while we return to the PLANTs." He cradled his chin in his hands. "Councilor Zala will not be pleased by this turn of events."

(Artemis Airspace, Strike vs Aegis)

"Why would you even join ZAFT in the first place, Athrun? You hate war." Kira tried to pry more from his friend. He remembered the words Athrun had spoken to him that day in Copernicus, the day his father had recalled him to the PLANTs. _You will see, the Earth Alliance will see reason. There will be no war, you're coming to join us in the PLANTs, right?_ The words had stuck to him that day, and thus he was trying to find some answers. As such he wasn't really paying attention to how his energy levels were dipping into the red zone.

"My mom was killed during the Bloody Valentine." Athrun winced, struggling not to let any tears fall. "I couldn't let her death go unanswered, Kira." He opened fire with his rifle, catching the Strike in the shoulder. "I know you'd feel the same way if it was your parents."

"Maybe." Was all Kira had time to say when his master alarm starting blaring. Kira's heart stopped when he looked at his battery level and it read zero. He could hear a scraping sound; the Aegis had shifted to its mobile armor mode, catching the Strike in its metallic grasp. "I'm taking you back to the _Vesalius_ , Kira. Maybe then you'll be able to listen to reason." Athrun said, praying that Commander Le Creuset wouldn't insist on throwing his friend in the brig because he was piloting an enemy machine.

It was around this time that Dearka and Nicol showed up. "Athrun, what are you doing? Our orders are to destroy that thing." the blonde pilot asked, wondering why the fifth prototype was in the Aegis's claw.

"It will be easier this way, that way we can keep it out of the Earth Alliance's hands." Athrun said, hoping he could explain to his friends just what was going on with Kira. Nicol would be easy to win over, and Dearka might warm in time, but Yzak would be the tough call.

"Like hell I am! I refuse to even set foot on a ZAFT ship!" Kira struggled to get free, but the Strike's controls were unresponsive. " _Archangel_ , I'm in a bit of a tight spot right now. The Aegis has me captured and my battery is dead!" He banged the console in frustration. "Any time you wanted to come and bail me out, I wouldn't complain at all!"

"Hang in there, kid. Murdoch and the others are prepping the Launcher pack for you right now." Mu's voice came in. "I'll see what I can do about getting that oversized crab off of you." the Hawk of Endymion came through, opening fire with his linear cannon. The 110mm shell hit the Aegis square in the back, and it was enough for the red Gundam to relinquish its hold on the Strike.

At the same time the Launcher pack roared off the linear catapult straight at the Strike. Kira hit the ejection button, causing the useless Aile pack to fall away. He ignited the Strike's engines, making for the _Archangel_ while the Aegis and Blitz followed after him. "Come back here, Kira!" Athrun yelled.

Nicol raised the Blitz's Trikeros system, reading the lancer darts, he hoped to just disable the Strike, not wanting to cause any harm to Athrun's friend. But the Launcher pack reached him first. Kira's battery power leapt straight up to one hundred percent. He raised the Agni, the Aegis squarely in his sight. "Just back off, Athrun! I don't want to hurt you, but I won't go back…I'm sorry man."

"I see…then in that case. The next time I'll have no choice but to shoot you down. Until next, Kira. Dearka, Nicol, we're returning to the ship." Dearka was about to protest. "Do as I say, right now, Lieutenant Elsman! This battle has no more point." The Aegis flew off, the Buster and Blitz falling into formation right behind it.

"Athrun…" Kira muttered, watching as the three mobile suits retreated into the void of space. His shoulders drooped in a mix of despair and exhaustion. Some days it really didn't pay to get out of bed!

(Artemis Airspace, Masamune vs Duel)

"Why won't you just die, you stinking Natural?!" Yzak raged. The Duel was the most basic of the Gundams, but Yzak was an elite of ZAFT, skilled enough to catch onto the basic operations of the Earth Alliance machine fairly quick. However, this new mobile suit was proving to be a colossal pain in the ass. He smirked when he saw one of the emerald lances manage to catch the Masamune in the shoulder.

Yukimasa grunted as his machine shook from the impact. "Hey! Don't trash my ride, pal!" He cycled through his other weapons. "Let's see, what else have I got here?" His eyes fell on something in particular. "Beam Daggers? Perfect!" Squeezing off a few more rounds from his rifle, followed by a quick barrage from the CIWS, he quickly spun his mobile suit, making it appear he was retreating.

"Oh no you don't!" Yzak growled. "I'm not going to let you run away so fast!" Gunning the Duel's engines, he took off in pursuit, yelling at the top of his lungs. He brought his beam rifle to bear, taking very careful aim at the Masamune's engines. His plan was to disable the mobile suit's propulsion in one hit, before using a grenade and a beam saber strike to finish it off. "Get ready to taste ZAFT's might, Natural Scum!"

Yzak's plan was actually fairly solid, and it would have worked if he weren't so hot tempered all the time. Yukimasa anticipated that he would be pursued; he went for one of the beam daggers mounted on the waist, while keeping his finger on the trigger for the sword/rifle. His eyes watching carefully as the Duel brought its own rifle up. "That's it pal…right where I want you!" He flung the dagger, the short glowing blade embedding itself in the scope. The massive switch blade flipped open, hacking the enemy's weapon in half.

"Damn it!" Yzak raged, going for a beam saber. Yukimasa smirked, deciding to meet his opponent head on, drawing a beam saber of his own from the back mounted rack, the two flaming blades meeting in a shower of sparks. Yzak went for a big overhead strike, Yukimasa going backhanded, although he wasn't aiming for the actual blade, instead targeting the saber handle itself, managing to cut right through it. "What?" Yzak was in disbelief, going for his other beam saber, only for his commanding officer's voice to come over the radio.

"That's enough Yzak." The suave, cultured voice of the White Meteor spoke. "We're going to withdraw for right now. We can't do anything more here." Yzak hesitated for a moment, looking at the machine that had humiliated him, but he also didn't want to violate a direct order from his superior, and reluctantly turned his machine back toward the _Gamow_.

( _Archangel_ , Hangar)

The Masamune settled into its docking slot. Yukimasa sighed in a mixture of relief and fatigue as he powered his machine down, and removed his helmet. "Wow, the guy who took the Duel is a regular hot head! But then again…he is a redcoat. I guess that uniform isn't just for show." He gave his mobile suit a loving pat. "But on the plus side, this bad boy is a real beast. I think I could get used to it."

"Yukimasa!" Flay had come into the hangar, She floated right up to the cockpit, not waiting for him to get out, the redhead went straight in, giving him the biggest, deepest kiss she could manage. "Oh, I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" She went on a mile a minute, all the while not relinquishing the death grip on him. He brought his hand up to stroke her brilliant red locks.

"I'm fine, honey. Couldn't be better in fact. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get out of this monkey suit and get a shower. After that, maybe we can get back to that nap, huh?" He gave his trademark roguish grin. Flay flashed a playful smile back at him, before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. The couple left the hangar together.

( _Archangel_ , Locker Room)

Kira had paid no mind to Murdoch, Mu, or anyone else. He just got out of the Strike's cockpit, and went straight to the locker room to change out of his flight suit into his uniform. He punched the wall in anger and frustration. Everything seemed to be falling apart around him and he had no guidance at all. "Damn it Athrun…How did it come to this?" He said to no one.

"Kira?" He turned to see Yui in the doorway. She came up, giving him a firm hug. He stiffened, the feeling of her breasts digging into him alleviated some of his pain. He had forgotten that Yui was quite endowed, not as big as Murrue or Sharon, but still pretty close! "I was so worried for a few minutes when you got caught by the Aegis. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine." Kira couldn't bring himself to look his girlfriend in the eye, his mind still roiling with conflict, Yui brought a delicate hand up to his face, the fresh pink nail polish catching the harsh lights of the room.

"What's wrong, Kira? Something is bothering you, I can tell." Yui had taken note of how meekly the Strike and Aegis had faced each other through the entire battle. It was evidet neither side wanted to cause any real harm. Her smile was warm and inviting. "You know you can tell me anything."

He sighed, if it were anyone else but her, he wouldn't have said a thing. But he trusted Yui, and knew she would give him all the support he needed. "Yes, something is bothering me. The pilot of the Aegis is a friend of mine. Someone I haven't seen in a long while." Kira took a seat on the bench, Yui right next to him. "Athrun Zala."

"Athrun Zala?" Kira and Yui turned to see Yukimasa and Flay standing in the doorway. "As in…the son of Defense Committee Chairman Patrick Zala? He's a friend of yours?" Neither of them had expected that would be the first they'd hear when setting foot in the room. "He's a friend of yours…and he's fighting for ZAFT, fighting us right now?"

"Yes." Kira said, knowing there was no way he could keep it hidden any more.

Yukimasa took a seat on the bench across from Kira, Flay sitting by his side. "Wow…talk about the worst kind of luck a guy could hit with. My heart goes out to you, man. Word of advice to you…it may be a good idea to keep out of the way of Athrun. Because if what happened today is any indication. I don't think your next meeting will go very well."

"But how can I avoid him? He's my best friend!" Kira protested. Athrun's promise to shoot him down the next time they spoke still ringing in his head.  
"You should listen to the guy." Keijiro piped up, everyone could only gape in surprise, considering he should have been locked up in the brig. "If you and your buddy have been forced onto different sides, common sense dictates you avoid each other at all costs. I think your logic is rather flawed."

"How did you get out of the brig?" Flay asked. Keijiro just folded his arms.

"I helped design this tub, sweetheart. I know the electronics inside and out. I may have also installed a few backdoors. I could have left the brig anytime I wanted to." Keijiro put his hands in his pockets. "Look Yamato, I know I'm a an asshole, but what I'm saying is the truth. You don't want to fight Zala? Then don't go near him at all. It's that simple."

Yui took hold of Kira's hand, ignoring Keijiro. They could do without his particular brand of encouragement. "Athrun means a lot to you, doesn't he, Kira?" Her violet eyes full of understanding. It set his mind and heart at ease.

"Yeah, he was the closest I ever had to a brother. I only wanted to talk to him, and find out what his reasoning is for joining ZAFT. I remember the last time we spoke to each other, he said there would be no war. The first time I see him in two years and he's wearing a ZAFT uniform. I just don't know what to believe in. He kept going on about how I was betraying my people and that I had to come with him." He brought his hand up to cradle Yui's face, causing her to start blushing. "But that would mean leaving you. I could never do that."

Flay giggled as both Yukimasa and Keijiro rolled their eyes. "Well, at least we know you have your priorities straight." Yukimasa said. Feeling confident Kira wasn't going to suddenly run off with the Strike. "I'll try not to scar you for life about the summer Athrun and I were at band camp together." Kira, Yui, and Flay all looked at him. "What? Our dads know each other, we met at a party in the PLANTs."

"Then you know the kind of guy he is, right?" Kira said. "I mean, he's not the type who goes around hurting innocent people."

Yukimasa just sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I do. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Maybe if we get lucky, you can introduce him to everyone. Although I still think you should stay away from Athrun for right now, Kira. If just to keep from having a repeat of what happened today." He stood up, "Come on Flay. I'd like to get back to that nap now. As for you." He looked to Keijiro. "You better get back in the brig, that Badgiruel lady would pitch a fit."

"Aw, why should I? It's dank and cold in those cells, and It's not like I have anything to spruce the place up!" He whined.

"Because if you don't, I'll chuck you in there bodily myself!" Yukimasa really wondered why the two of them became friends at times when he acted like such an idiot! "You do realize they will shoot you on sight if they see you out and around. Even you are not that stupid!"

Kejiro folded his arms across his chest, pouting like a six year old who was told he couldn't have a toy and was about to throw a colossal tantrum. "I just wanted to stretch my legs a little bit, is that such a crime?"

Yukimasa finally had enough, and just grabbed Keijiro by his collar. "Come on, you idiot!" He dragged the protesting teenager out the door. Flay giggled again, giving a little wave to Kira and Yui before following the boys into the hall.

Kira and Yui sat there in an awkward silence for a few seconds before she pulled him up to his feet. "Come on, I imagine you need a shower and some rest. We may have pushed away ZAFT for right now, but we both know this isn't the end. They won't stop until this ship is destroyed."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Kira said, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips. Whatever his reluctance to fight Athrun specifically, if any ZAFT soldier dared lay a hand on Yui, he would show them just how focused he could really be. In the mean time he would be satisfied with just relishing the soft touch of his girlfriend's hand. Kira reasoned that he'd become quite intimate to what Yui's hand felt like, if things continued on the way they did.


	4. A Goddess Scorned Pt1

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Akihiro Atland is from Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

Gundam Seed Fated Shift: Rearmed

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

A Goddess Scorned Pt. 1

(Eurasian Federation Starbase Artemis, January 27th, C.E. 71)

It was with a profound sense of relief that Flay found herself standing at the viewport, watching as the _Archangel_ began entering Artemis's massive harbor. The last couple of days had been a true ordeal, but they were finally within allied territory. She fingered a few strands of her hair. "Wow, my hair is a mess!" Flay remarked to herself, chuckling a little. "I guess when you're trying to avoid being blasted out of space, your looks are the first thing to go. I wonder if I even brought a hair brush?"

Flay's chuckles eventually turned to full-blown laughter, recalling that she had left her purse in the lab building. "My hair brush is probably space debris by now!" Her laughs continued, drawing the attention of Yukimasa. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter. "Hi Yukimasa."

It hadn't been hard to find his girlfriend; He just had to follow the giggles, and there she was at the viewport. Yukimasa had to admit, it was nice to see a smile on Flay's face. He was afraid that recent events would have left a mark on her and not in a good way. So he put his hands in his pockets, offering his usual, carefree smile. "Heh, it looks like I missed a rather amusing joke. Care to fill in the rest of the class?" He floated up next to her.

"It just occurred to me that I haven't done my hair or make-up or anything else in almost two days, and I'm pretty sure I left my purse behind in the lab when we escaped." Flay said, putting her arms around his waist. "This isn't some crazy nightmare is it? We're really on a warship trying to avoid a bunch of people who want to kill us."

Yukimasa gently stroked those blazing red locks. "I don't think you need to worry about it too much, Flay. Your hair is just fine the way it is. Just as soft and manageable as any other day." She blushed at his words. "If it makes you feel any better, I left my phone in the lab. It's nothing new, I can get a new phone, however, it would be nice to be able to play Pokemon Go on this ship. I'm real eager to see what I could catch in a place like this."

He was rewarded by her laughter once again, clear and delicate as ringing bells. Flay pulled out her phone. "Here, you can play on my phone." She took note of the battery level. "Oh, It looks like I need to recharge it first." She sighed, shaking her head in realization. "My charger was in my purse. This really is a fine mess we've gotten into, isn't it?"

Yukimasa just put his arm around her waist. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, Flay. I'm just messing around with you. I can go without Pokemon Go for a while. Truth be told, I almost didn't take this assignment. But then it turns out to have been the best thing possible, since it mean I got to see you again."

"You couldn't be more right." Flay said, cuddling into his side. Yukimasa took in the feeling of her hand. the skin of her palm was soft to the touch, "If my father ever found the truth, he'd have a coronary, but I know I can win him over. Some of the suitors he picked weren't bad guys, but they couldn't hold a candle to you, Yukimasa. He would have picked a nice, safe choice."

"And by safe, you mean incredibly dry and boring, Like Prince Valium from Spaceballs." Yukimasa cut in, "Seriously, I could fall asleep just watching a guy like that yawn." This elicited more giggles from Flay.

"Yeah, and if that happened, I would have been miserable after the first day. The life of a being a trophy wife to some rich senator or congressman's spoiled, obnoxious son, sitting on the porch of some big, empty house getting wasted does not appeal to me in any way." She gave him that warm smile he loved so much. "I don't know what I want to do with my life, but I want to figure that out with you."

Yukimasa fished in his coat pocket, pulling out a pair of headphones. "We can't play Pokemon Go, but we can listen to a few tunes while we dock, care to join me?" Flay didn't have to say anything more, taking one of the offered earbuds. She turned to the music player, keying up one of her favorite songs.

"Tiny Dancer, by Elton John. You always did have good taste in everything, my girl." was all Yukimasa had to say, as he and Flay held hands, just enjoying the quiet moment. He put his arm around the redhead's slender waist, she rested her head against his shoulder as the _Archangel_ slowly made its way into one of the docking slips.

(Bridge)

The tension on the bridge was so heavy it made Sharon's breasts seem light. The Hawk of Endymion nervously paced up and down the upper part of the bridge, just above the access to the Combat Information Center. He was clearly distressed about the entire situation.

"You look uneasy, Lieutenant La Flaga." The busty pinkette said from her place at communications, listening to the instructions being transmitted from the harbormaster. She brushed some of her thick wavy locks out of her face.

"Uneasy is putting it very mildly, Lieutenant Heim." He grunted, reflexively curling his fingers, causing the knuckles to pop. I hate to say this, but I seriously doubt this visit ending on a pleasant note. I have prior experience with Eurasians, all of it bad. They've never been the biggest fans of us, and the feeling is mutual."

"I've never had much love for the EF myself. Our two nations were in a veritable cold war before all of this started." Natarle frowned, tapping her foot impatiently before changing the subject. "Where is Colonel Sahaku in all this? Even if he isn't an Atlantic Federation officer, He should be present for these proceedings."

Mu just snorted. "I'm sure he'd gladly join us, although I'm even more certain he'd much rather be spending his time with a certain Vice Foreign Minister's daughter." The Hawk smirked at the notion that the child of the George Allster would fall for a Coordinator, especially a member of the Five Noble Houses of Orb. At the very least Yukimasa and Flay seemed happy enough with each other, so he couldn't really disapprove.

Murrue and Sharon both let out delicate titters. They had both recalled how much he had spoken of the graceful redhead during their time working on the G-Weapons. "Personally, I think their relationship is adorable. In the harsh environment of space, romance has blossomed between two young people." Sharon gushed.

Natarle just gave her fellow officers an annoyed glare. She clearly didn't find their laid-back demeanor at this critical moment amusing at all. "We're in a tight spot here! We have no idea of knowing how the Eurasians are going to respond to our arrival. This is hardly the time to be focused on stupid, teenage romances."

Mu sighed, wondering what it would take to pull the colossal log stuck up Natarle's ass. He understood the need for spit and polish at times, but there were times when it just slowed things down. He just ran a hand through his hair. "Now now, Ensign. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous of Colonel Sahaku. I'm certain you a teenager at one point. There was no doubt some guy you were pining over. Don't try to deny it."

"I'm just looking out for the wellbeing of the people on this ship, military and civilian alike." Natarle made sure to put emphasis on the last part. "Orb was supposed to be in charge of security. Lord Sahaku gave us his word that nothing what happen to the prototypes, and look at what happened. I guess that's what happens when you use nepotism."

Murrue stood up, watching as the docking clamps secured the majestic ship in place, a boarding arm swung around to connect to the airlock. "I might agree with you on that, but I know for a fact you saw how he fought out there. We wouldn't have made it out of Heliopolis alive, much less get this far without and Kira fighting for us."

"Hold on a minute you guys. I'm getting some new instructions." Everyone waited expectedly as Sharon listened to the other end, her delicate eyebrows narrowing slightly before taking the headset off. "We're to wait here for an inspection team led by Lieutenant Commander Biddauph, the station's executive officer." The way she said the last two words it almost seemed appropriate for her to make air quotes as she did it.

All four Atlantic Federation officers felt a sense of dread as the door opened, admitting a Eurasian man, flanked by a pair of very beefy men, in full body armor and armed with assault rifles. "What is the meaning of this? What kind of inspection team do you think are?" Natarle demanded, any further protests died when the guard pointed a gun right at her face.

"I suggest you watch your next words, Ensign." Biddauph spoke in an oily voice. "You've shown up here without any warning. We need time to verify who you are. It would be an awful shame if something happened to you before we got everything cleared up." The thinly veiled threat was apparent to everyone. "Now if you'll please follow me, I'm to take you to the conference room, Admiral Garcia will meet with you there once he's finished some paperwork."

Resigning themselves to their fate for the time being, the four officers fell into step, Murrue's last sight of Biddauph was a triumphant grin on his face as he looked around the bridge of the Archangel before the door snapped shut behind her, and she knew that their situation had just gone from bad to worse.

(Observation Room, five minutes earlier)

Yukimasa and Flay were still enjoying their quiet moment when they heard the harsh sound of grating metal as the airlock door slid open. The two ran to the entrance to see the "Inspection Team" coming aboard, Biddauph had brought eight men with him. The redhead gasped at the sight of the assault rifles the Eurasian soldiers were carrying. He subtly put himself in front of her watching as the Eurasian began issuing orders to his men.

"You two stand guard here." Two men took position at the airlock. "You two, began rounding up the crew and bring them to the cafeteria. The other four will come with me to the bridge." He then caught sight of the two teenagers standing there. "You there! What are you doing?" He demanded, the soldiers instinctively pointed their rifles at Yukimasa and Flay.

"My girlfriend and I are just enjoying the view, sir." Yukimasa said. "Kindly take the gun out of my face." The two were roughly herded down the hall, neither of them losing hold of the other. He was silently glad he wasn't on the bridge like he had been ordered to. He imagined that the rest of the crew would be rounded up before long.

They were taken to the cafeteria where Kira and Yui were having a bite to eat. The couple looked on at surprise at the unexpected guests. "Two of you stand guard outside, make sure no one tries anything." Biddauph gave those in the room a dismissive glance before sweeping out of the room like he owned the place, the guards hot on his heels.

"Mind telling me what that is all about?" Kira asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Yukimasa replied, taking a seat across from them. "Flay and I were just enjoying the view when this whole clutch of guys came in and started pushing us around. But if I had to venture a guess…they could be after the Strike and Masamune. The Eurasian Federation would just love to get any edge they could on their Atlantic Federation rivals, this is Christmas come early for them."

It was then an conversation he had with Mu earlier that morning came to Kira's mind. "Lieutenant La Flaga told me to put a lock on the Strike's OS before we made port. I guess he knew that this could go south on us." His hands wrenched in anxiety, as Yui put an arm around him.

"So what do we do, Yukimasa?" Yui asked, keeping her voice low. "We can't exactly take them while they're armed."

"We just play dumb for right now." Yukimasa whispered, watching as slowly the crew and civilians taken on from Helipolis began filing in, noting the soldiers were looking around the room. He leaned in close, keeping his voice low. "If I had to be totally honest, we may yet be rescued, and from a very unlikely source."

"Whom are you talking about?" Flay asked. "I know for a fact there's no other Atlantic Federation units in this area of space."

Yukimasa smirked. "I never said it would be the Atlantic Federation coming to our aid now, did I, Flay? No, our rescuers are ZAFT." The three looked at him, not sure their ears had failed them. He just smirked. "If I were Le Creuset, then I'd split my forces in half, following us at a distance where we couldn't detect them, and make an attack on this place in order to flush us out."

"How could they do that? The minute the Eurasians detect any enemy mobile suits approaching, they'll raise the shields." Kira said.

"Not if they go for a stealth approach. Remember I helped design these machines, Kira. I know everything they're capable of. One of the mobile suits, the GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, was made for ambush attacks. It has something called the Mirage Colloid system, what this does allows the Blitz to pull off a real neat little party trick and become completely invisible to all means of detection."

"So it's basically a cloaking device?" Yui asked.

"Got it in one. It would be child's play for ZAFT to send out the Blitz while cloaked, fooling all the sensors on this giant hunk of rock. It destroys a few of the Umbrella's emitters, and it's just a big old target. I was going to tell this to Captain Ramius and the others but I kind of got sidetracked."

Flay let out a nervous gulp, if that was the case, then the trouble wasn't over, it was just beginning. Kira was less than enthused, because it meant he would have to fight more. Even taking in the details of Yui's face wasn't helping his nerves, although she wasn't really paying attention.

"How do you know that Le Creuset will have kept a portion of his forces here on standby?" She asked. Right now Yui was all business, she almost seemed like a soldier with the way she carried herself.

"Orb isn't as neutral as you may think it is, Miss Takamura. I know Uzumi Nara Attha sounds crazy with his talk of neutrality and pacifism, but he's also far from stupid. It takes more than pretty words to reinforce your borders." He cracked his knuckles. "It takes strength. A little-known fact, but Heliopolis had a standing force of GINNs that we imported from the PLANTs, courtesy of my old man. Unfortunately, they were away when Le Creuset attack. It's why the White Meteor is so dangerous. He attacked us when our guard was down."

He didn't tell them that it was most likely Kato who told Rau when the _Kagutsuchi_ had departed; it was always on standby in the event something went wrong. "For right now, we just play dumb. Let's just see how things play out. If Rau doesn't act, then I'm certain Murrue and the other officers will figure something out themselves. We can't afford to act rashly."

It was then he thought back to his conversation with Cagalli just before the ZAFT invasion. "I know it's rather disheartening to hear that everything you thought you knew about our homeland is a big, pretty lie. However, these are desperate times we live in right now. Look no further than our current hosts. It's a pretty sad sign when thugs like these are supposed to be the ones guarding us. They'd fall apart like paper tigers exposed to the slightest rain. That's why we need to be walking tall like genuine lions. This isn't the time to be a meek lamb." He looked right at Kira when he said that last part.

"For your sake, Yukimasa. I really hope you're right." Flay said, curling up against him as the cafeteria soon filled up. Yukimasa kept his head low, silently praying that Keijiro had actually tried to escape and wasn't currently getting wasted somewhere in the bowels of the ship. He could really be their only hope of getting out!

Yui mirrored the redhead's action, resting her head on Kira's shoulder. In that moment, feeling the weight of the one person in the world who had come to mean more to him than anything else, Yukimasa's words rang true. Kira didn't like to fight, but what would happen to Yui if the Eurasians came wanting the Strike's secrets? He held onto her a little tighter, not wanting to know the answer.

(Conference Room)

"We've only been here an hour, and I'm already getting chills about this place." Sharon said, folding her arms across her chest. The minute they had docked at the station, Murrue, Natarle, Mu, and Sharon had been promptly ushered to a conference room and left to cool their heels. "I'm certain you'll agree with me this place is full of creeps? I saw how those men were staring at us. I imagine they haven't seen a woman in months!"

"Those bastards are probably already beginning to dismantle the _Archangel_ and the Strike piece by piece in order to discern their inner workings." Natarle fumed. She had voiced her concerns about coming here, knowing that the relationship between both the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation was never going to be a totally friendly one. The long-standing rivalry between the two nations guaranteed they would view each other with a degree of suspicion, and now they had access to their rival's latest technology.

"You did warn us about this possibility, Ensign." Murrue sighed as she poured herself a drink. "I had a feeling that something was up when the inspection team came on board with assault rifles." She scowled in disgust. "I just hope the rest of the crew and passengers are okay."

Mu leaned against the wall. The hard glare in his ice blue eyes, Murrue couldn't help but it a little bit attractive. Mu was always known as a fairly laidback guy, but in this moment, he was focused and most of all determined. This was the Hawk of Endymion when he was looking for his next kill. "They won't have harmed them…yet. Garcia would bring the entire AF Navy on his head if anything did happen. Although, I think the best course of action right now, is to get out of here."

"I'm with the Lieutenant on this one." Natarle said, glad someone was finally taking the initiative. "We can't stay here forever. Our best chance is to take back the _Archangel_ and the Strike. We cannot let the Eurasians discern any kind of information from, even if they are our allies."

"Then we should get started and fast." Sharon said, growing tired of sitting around herself. "Because we do not we have the luxury of time." Before they could make any further plans, the doors swung open, admitting Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia himself. He carried himself with an overly prideful swagger. Murrue and the others begrudgingly snapped to attention, following the old adage 'respect the rank, not the man.'

"Welcome, Lieutenant Ramius, I apologize for the rough treatment my men have given you." Garcia laid on the famous Latin charm, but the three female officers weren't buying it, Mu just rolled his eyes. "I hope we can clear up any misunderstandings between our respective nations. It would be bad sport to treat an ally with such hostility now, wouldn't it?"

"What is happening to my crew?" Murrue asked, trying not to sound too demanding. "I certainly hope none of them have been harmed.

"You needn't worry about a thing, Lieutenant Ramius. I'm simply having them all kept in the ship's cafeteria until we sort out this whole bothersome mess." Garcia said. "Until then, enjoy your accommodations, if you have need for anything, just let one of my attendants know. In the meantime, I have some matters to take care of, until then!" With that Garcia and his escorts left, the doors locking behind him.

Once out I the hall, Garcia's pleasant expression melted off completely, replaced by a contemptuous sneer. "The officers aren't going to crack that easily. They won't lift the encryption lockouts on the operating systems for their two machines. We'll have to try pumping the rest of the crew. I'm certain someone will be able to break."

( _Archangel_ , Cafeteria)

Kira and his friends were just silently biding their time when in walked Garcia and a pair of his guards. He Everyone kept their heads down, not making eye contact. "Good day to everyone. I apologize for the intrusion, but I am in need of some assistance. We're hoping someone could release the lock on the OS for the two G-weapons you brought with you? Perhaps the pilots of the machines could help us?" No one was fooled for a minute by the false congeniality in the Spaniard's voice.

Neumann stood up. "Lieutenant La Flaga is the pilot of the Strike, why not ask him?" He was rewarded with a bash of the rifle across his face, sending him stumbling to the ground. A few of the women screamed. Yukimasa swore that Garcia got off on it. But the helmsman just gave him a defiant glare.

"I suggest you don't be cute, Chief Petty Officer Neumann. We've looked over the ship's records and know that Lieutenant La Flaga has his Moebius Zero present. That means someone else is piloting the Strike and Masamune. So where are they?" Garcia punctuated those last few words. No one dared speak up.

Garcia walked up down and the tables, eyeing everyone. "I see everyone is being tight lipped…a pity. I'm going to have get persuasive then." He suddenly lanced out, grabbing onto Flay's arm. "The captain of this ship is a woman, then perhaps the pilot of the Strike is as well."

"I'm not the pilot, let go of me you creep!" Flay protested, struggling to break free, but Garcia held an iron grip. The redhead proved she wasn't so helpless when she whipped out, stomping on his foot, slapping him across the face and grabbing his crotch hard! "How do you like it when someone grabs you without express consent? Hurts, doesn't it?" She hissed.

Garcia hit a pitch reserved for calling dogs and the Vienna Boys Choir. One of the guards went to hit Flay with the butt of his rifle, only for Yukimasa to grab him by the arm, sending him across the room, sprawling to the ground. He stood over the guard with the rifle in hand, detaching the magazine and ejecting the round in the chamber. "Don't push your luck, Garcia." Yukimasa had his "ice prince" mask on, he looked quite regal, if not for the furious sneer on his face.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am Colonel Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku of the Orb Strategic Services, and one of the creators of the G-Weapons. I'm also the pilot of the mobile suit, Masamune. You won't get any secrets of those MS without me. You or your goons lay a finger on the girl or anyone else here for that matter, I'll gut you personally."

Garcia gasped. "Be that it may, I want to know who the pilot of the Strike is." Kira looked to Yui, who clearly wanted him to not say anything, out of fear he would be harmed. However, Kira wasn't going to let anything happen to the girl he loved or his other friends. But just as he about to open his mouth, the door opened, admitting Keijiro, his trademark sneer on his face.

"Heh, did someone mention my name?" He drawled. He made a sweeping bow. "Ensign Keijiro Mishima, pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam at your service, Admiral Garcia. I'll be more than willing to play ball with you, provided the price is right, same with Colonel Bossman over there." Yukimasa threw a questioning glance to Keijiro, but he paid no mind. "The Sahakus are more than willing to share as long as their property isn't disrespected, but I think you got off to a bad start by putting hands on his girl. I doubt Vice Foreign Minister Allster would take kindly to knowing you roughed up his baby girl."

Garcia's eyes shot upwards as he looked from Yukimasa to Flay and back. He snapped to attention. "My profound apologies, Miss Allster. I wasn't aware you were on this ship. Your father's reputation is well known. I would never wish to anger the man. Nor would I desire to anger your father, Lord Yukimasa." He amended, but Yukimasa just glared at him. "Your father is well known in the Earth Alliance as a man who is sympathetic to our plight. I wish he had just come to us first." With that the affable nature was back in full force.

"I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot, Lord Yukimasa. Since your father has been such an asset to help us bridge the technology gap, I'm certain we come to some kind of agreement? Perhaps I can show you the progress we've made on the H-Program, we're on the cusp of a massive breakthrough, although it's far from perfect. I'm certain a little touch of Orb's technical expertise could help…push us over the edge?"

Yukimasa looked to Keijiro who just gave a slight nod, clearly his stoner friend had a plan and since he had no ideas himself, it was best to play along, if just for the safety of Flay and everyone else. He looked to Kira, who was very distressed at this turn of events. "Okay Admiral Garcia, I'll play ball for right now. Show us the merchandise."

The Eurasian smirked. "Finally, I'm glad to see you've come around, please follow me." Keijiro just sauntered out on Garcia's heels. Yukimasa looked to Kira and the girls, throwing up a subtle two finger wave, Flay smiled at that and he walked out the door.

"What was that all about?" Yui asked, having seen it too.

"That's his way of letting me know everything is going to be all right. If I had to guess, He's just playing along with Garcia. He's probably going to try and find Captain Ramius and the others so we can escape." The redhead had known him long enough to recognize when her boyfriend had a plan.

"Probably where the Strike and Masamune are located as well." Kira said, bowing his head slightly. "I just wish I had said something sooner. I feel so useless." Yui patted him on the back, before leaning into give him a gentle kiss on the cheek, causing his entire body to go rigid. "W-what was that for?"

"Because I don't like it when you wallow in self-pity, Kira." Yui explained, speaking in the same voice she used whenever she was teaching in one of Kato's classes. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but Keijiro showing up is a godsend. Garcia thinks he has the Atlantic Federation's two G-weapon pilots in his back pocket now. As such, he's not going to give the rest of the crew a second thought. Once we know where the Strike and Masamune are, when the breakout happens, you can do your thing."

"How will we know when the time is right, though? It's not like he's going to just call us and let us now." Kira asked.

"Yukimasa will give us a signal, what that is, I don't know yet, but it will happen. We just to need to be ready." Flay said.

"Okay." Kira said, steeling his nerves for what was to come. "Then I guess it's just sit and wait until then." He took hold of Yui's hand, still resting on the table. Flay also reached out, since Yukimasa was no longer present she needed some support too.

(Artemis, Lower Levels)

Yukimasa tuned out Garcia's ramblings about how much superior the H-Project was to the G-Project and that once they were finished; the Eurasian Federation would cement their place as the dominant partner in the Earth Alliance. He was too busy focused on keeping track of the locations of every security camera and taking note of every guard station. He leaned into Keijiro. "I have to say, your timing was perfect."

Keijiro put on a shit-eating grin, Yukimasa found it amazingly reassuring. "Heh, I tapped into security, I was watching your every move. I think you've been spending too much time with that red-haired hottie of yours. I would think you'd be more aware of your surroundings that way."

Yukimasa just let out a silent groan, hoping Garcia and his men didn't hear any of it. "Then why didn't you try to warn us?"

"What are you talking about, bro. I sent you a text." Keijiro said, which just made Yukimasa's scowl all the more pronounced. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Garcia is going to catch on."

"My phone is currently floating about the remains of Helipolis. I couldn't have gotten your text even if wanted to." Now it was Keijiro's turn to scowl furiously.

"Son of a bitch…I brought half my game collection with us when we settled on the colony!" Keijiro dug his fingers into his palm. "Those games were classics! From before the Reconstruction War even! If I ever see that asshat, Kato. I'm taking it out of his ass, and then I'm making him pay me the difference for what I lost."

The group entered the hangar, the two boys looked on in amazement at the three Gundam-class mobile suits laid out before them.

"Behold the fruit of the H-Project…the Hyperion units! More than a match for anything the Atlantic Federation could think of." There was genuine pride in Garcia's voice as he introduced Yukimasa and Keijiro to his creations. "I've labored over them since the war started. With your expertise, I'm certain the Earth Alliance brass will use them as the basis for the new mass production units."

Keijiro whistled in appreciation as he looked over the Eurasian mobile suits. "Not bad…not bad at all, if I do say so myself. These Hyperions could easily give the G-Weapons a run for their money, what do you think, Masa?"

The Sahaku was about to say something when a young man walked by him. He took a couple moments, staring at the new arrival. He was about their age, with long, dark brown hair that reached well past his waist. He wore a black leather jacket that rode high on him, exposing his flat stomach and defined abs. He also wore very tight black pants trimmed with red, and chrome panels on the jacket and pants. He wore a dour expression on his face, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was.

Keijiro blinked a few times, wanting to get the full extent of what he was seeing. "Wow…I thought I was edgy and cool. Tell me, do you listen to Scream-O every morning after you wake up and get ready for the day? I bet your anthem is I Must Be Emo by Hollywood Undead. Seriously bro, get a change of clothes, 'cause I don't want to look at your bare midriff, it's kind of creepy."

"Let me introduce you to Lieutenant Canard Pars, he's the main test pilot for Hyperion Unit 1." Garcia didn't catch the annoyed glare coming from Canard. Yukimasa wasn't so much focusing on his clothes as his face, starting with his eyes, a deep shade of familiar purple. If Canard cut back his hair, and it was a few shades lighter, he could easily pass as Kira's twin brother. "Introduce yourself, Lieutenant."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance." Canard's voice barely rose above a monotone, but there was an irritated slant to it. "I don't know why the Admiral brought you here, and I could care less, just make sure to stay out of my way and let me do my job." With that he stalked off to one of the Hyperion Gundams, painted white with a gray torso and trimmed in black, red, and gold.

Garcia sighed. "Please excuse my subordinate's rudeness. He's had a rough go at life and thus has some unresolved…family issues. Rest assured he will do what's asked of him when required. Now how about we get to the matter at hand? I'm sure you'll be able to deliver what we need." He led them to the second Hyperion Unit, painted gray and trimmed in blue and black.

Keijiro climbed into the cockpit, starting up the main computer to check out the operating system, judging from his reaction, the Eurasians had as much luck in programming it as they had. Yukimasa inspected the outside, noting the all too familiar look of the machines in general. "Well, my first impression is that someone stole the keys to the patent office. Because these Hyperions resemble the G-Weapons quite a bit."

Garcia puffed up his chest a little bit. "I'm surprised you'd think such a thing, Lord Sahaku. You know as well as I do that the Gundams are hardly a new thing. We wanted to honor the memory of those mighty war machines of an era long past. They were a symbol of hope to their allies and fear to their enemies during the Reconstruction War. We want this to be the same for our own forces."

"I hear that. Gundams are just as much symbols as they are functional weapons of war." Keijiro said, sticking his head out of the hatch. "I remember reading the stories of during the war, how whenever a Gundam showed up on the battlefield the bad guys shit their pants." Yukimasa and Garcia looked at him confusedly, the stoner just scowled at them and took a drag. "What? I read history too! Changing the subject, I have to admit I'm impressed you managed to miniaturize the Lightwave Barrier onto a mobile suit. I bet that eats up quite a bit of juice."

"Yes, unfortunately that is one of the system's biggest flaws." Garcia sighed. "If this system had existed in the time of the Reconstruction War, it wouldn't be such an issue since the Gundams worked on nuclear power. But that's not an option with the N-jammers in play. We've been developing a new generation of high density energy batteries that can run longer, but until they can be perfected the barrier can only be used sparely."

"Indeed, A lot of the tech used in that era was outlawed by the United Nations after the war ended." Yukimasa thought back to one of the many history books he had read as he grew up. "Nano-laminated armor made them virtually impenetrable to energy based weapons. And the Alaya-Vijana system made it possible to control them without a complex operating system." His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me that your machines use the AVS! The surgical procedure was known to be extremely risky, and a lot of people ended up severely crippled or even dead because of it!"

Garcia held up his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Oh please, we're not that barbaric! But we have taken many of our cues from the original Gundams." He looked up at the Hyperion with great affection. "I had a plastic model of one of them when I was a young boy…the Luminar I believe it was called. A true work of art in every way, that's why I patterned the Hyperions after them."

Yukimasa and Keijiro both got nostalgic gleams in their eyes. "We played with Gunpla too. It's kind of funny that what started as a training tool during war time became a game for children."

"Times do change." Garcia said, spreading his arms out. "But we're getting off the subject. Be truthful with me Lord Sahaku. What do you think you can do to get the Hyperions combat ready in time?"

Yukimasa sighed, readjusting his coat. "Well, that depends on the status of your pilot corps, Admiral Garcia. If you have a fair amount of Coordinator pilots, limited production of the Hyperion line could start right away, but you strike me as someone who's looking at the bigger picture, and want to make it available for all pilots ASAP, in which case you probably have the same problem we did for the G-Weapons…a lack of a Natural use OS."

"Yeah, I'm afraid it's a sad truth. Admiral G." Keijiro took a drag of his cigarette. "We won't be able to help you in that regard. Without the Alaya-Vijana, Your Hyperions are pretty much giant paperweights. So be ready to invest in some heavy research and development for the Operating System, or try and dig up the plans for the AVS, but good luck convincing your superiors in Moscow to let any of your soldiers undergo the procedure."

Garcia didn't look happy by this turn of events. "This is not what I was hoping for, gentlemen. I thought we had a deal. You said you would be able to get the Hyperions up and running." Both Yukimasa and Keijiro were unfazed, they had run into far worse characters than him."

"We're both good engineers, but we're not magi-tech elves, Admiral." Keijiro spat. "We can't just conjure up a solution out of thin air. We've taken a look at your mobile suits and identified the shortcomings with them. You're the one with the resources, so hop to it and give us what we need, and then maybe we can do something with it."

The Spanish admiral frowned, but he just shrugged. "Fair enough then. I suppose it will have to be enough for right now. I'll leave a few of my guards outside so you won't be disturbed. Ask them if you need anything. I will want to be kept informed of any developments and I mean anything." Garcia gave a slight nod before he departed. Keijiro and Yukimasa both smirked as the door shut behind him, and they high fived.

"Ha! Wow, he is really full of himself! As if we'd actually help that Hispanic idiot!" Keijiro chortled before giving the console a loving pat. "I think we might get a new toy out of this as well. With this, plus the Strike, Masamune and the Moebius Zero, we'll be set up fairly well for firepower, more than a match for the other G-weapons."

Yukimasa wore a thin smile. "I had to admit I was a little curious as to what your plan was, but I'm glad I followed your lead. All we need to do is bid our time and then we can get out of here. Although…" His gaze fell on Canard, currently running a diagnostic on his Hyperion unit at the maintenance console on the gantry. "We may have to deal with a certain little problem first."

Canard turned, and the two boys locked gazes. The young man who bore such a striking resemblance to Kira then began walking down the gantry toward them. For a few seconds none of them said a word before he finally spoke. "I get the impression you don't really buy into Garcia's bullshit. If you want, I can help you out. I hate working for the Eurasians, all a bunch of arrogant nobles stuck in another time frame. I can even tell you where your mobile suits and the officers are."

Yukimasa and Keijiro were instantly piqued. "Is that a fact?" Yukimasa asked. "What do you get out of this? I can't imagine this comes without some kind of price."

"Help me steal Hyperion Unit 01 and we'll call it even." Canard stated.

"Can we take this one as well?" Keijiro pleaded. "Just think of it as payment for services rendered."

Canard shrugged. "Sure, I don't care. Just as long as it means I can screw over Garcia. You can piss in his coffee mug for all I care."

Keijiro let out a silly grin, thumping Canard on the back. "I take back what I said earlier about the whole Emo thing. You clearly don't give a fuck about anything. I can respect that a lot, C-man." He began crying mock tears. "It's just so beautiful! I've found a kindred spirit. From here on out, you and I are brothers in arms about not giving a fuck!

Canard raised an eyebrow. "Is this normal?" He said to Yukimasa, jerking a thumb at Keijiro.

"Welcome to my world." Yukimasa answered in deadpan.

Keijiro put an arm around Canard who grunted and brushed it off. "Look, this is purely an alliance of convenience. I have my own goals and I just need a little extra assistance to make my escape."

Yukimasa just shrugged. "My sentiments exactly. Unlike my friend here, I don't see us painting our nails, having sleepovers, or going to metal concerts together. That being said, I'm a man who believes in paying back debts, and I think I may owe you a favor down the line." He held his hand out. "If you think about it, look us up in Orb. I'll try to accommodate you."

Canard regarded it for a minute, before tentatively grasping his hand and giving a firm shake. "I don't see anything in the immediate future, but I'll keep it in mind. At least you seem to have a half way working brain unlike your friend here."

"Aw, I think someone is being Mister Ice King!" Keijiro uttered in a singsong voice, going down to one knee and bowing. "My buddy and I are at your beck and call, sire. We are your disposal, but not literally, I'm not going to be your meat shield."

The Eurasian Gundam pilot sighed. "The feeling is mutual."

( _Kagutsuchi_ , Bridge, Artemis Air Space)

"Please Tatsuo, you have to let me go out there!" Cagalli protested. "I've been practicing on the simulators back home for the better part of two months now. I know I can handle myself in a fight. Besides I want payback for Helipolis." The fire in her golden eyes was blazing even more so since the destruction of Heliopolis and evidence of Kato's betrayal, the professor was currently recovering in the brig from the round of Wheel of Misfortune.

"I'm sorry but that's just not happening, Lioness." Tatsuo said, taking another drag of his cigarillo. "I have strict orders to not let you sortie from your old man. Besides, none of our GINNs are even capable of being used by Naturals; we don't have that fancy operating system that's so crucial. You'd just be dead weight out there."

Cagalli's nostrils flared at those words. Kuro just squeezed her shoulder, it was one of the few ways he knew to get her to calm down. "I hate to say it, but Tatsuo has a point. Juri, Asagi, and Mayura would have had as much of a chance as you at this point, Cagalli. I know you just want to be useful, but let Alissa instruct you in how to work the radar, or maybe weapons."

The blonde just huffed in annoyance. "Fine, at least I can blow something up!" She went over to the weapon station where Alissa was already waiting for her.

Tatsuo sighed; while he was reknowned for being a colossal hardass to almost everyone, he had always had a soft spot for the blonde Athha heiress. He knew that she was a very capable soldier and commander, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Orb Defense Forces. She was reputed for always leading from the front and sharing the risk with the troops under her command during training exercises.

Even though Orb's Astray series was technically superior to anything else available, without a proper way for Naturals to control the mobile suits, letting Cagalli go out at this point in time would be tantamount to suicide, and he would never be able to live with himself if the Lioness of Orb was cut down in the middle of battle.

The sound of the bridge doors opening followed by an elegant yawn caused Tatsuo to look over his shoulder, "Ah, so nice of you to join us, Yukira. It wasn't like we could have used you earlier." The source of the voice was a young woman of seventeen, wearing a white tanktop holding back her very generous c-cup breasts and tight, black yoga pants that showed off her shapely legs and very tight rear end. Long white hair tied in a low ponytail. Her brilliant red eyes held a fierce gaze.

"Oh piss off, old man." Yukira Rinka Attha said, stretching her arms over her head. "I had just got back from a three-day long mission. I was exhausted." It was then she caught sight of Cagalli at the weapons station, engrossed at memorizing everything on the screen. Her lips curled up in a playful smirk, she snuck up behind, putting her arms around her, eliciting a startled squeak. "Hey there Cousin Caggy." She purred, breasts digging into the younger girl's back. "I wasn't aware you were on board. Were you that desperate to see me?"

"Gah!" Cagalli would have leapt up but Yukira's embrace kept her firmly in her seat. She gave her cousin an annoyed scowl. "It's nice to see you as well, Yukira." The blonde sighed. "As for my being here, it's a long and involved story. Did you hear about what happened to Heliopolis?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the news feed when I woke up. I was going to try and sleep for at least another day before I read that schlock!" Yukira snapped, her white hair whipping around in the low gravity environment. "What the fuck happened there? How did we not notice that Kato was going to sell us out to ZAFT? I only hope he got what was coming to him!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. That traitor more than got what was coming to him." Kuro smirked, thinking back to the fun little game they had played earlier, and how Kato had been hauled off a gibbering mess, which was the usual state for people after a round on the Wheel. Tatsuo did give some really good revenge. "It was very…therapeutic at the time."

"You did miss a rather stirring round of Wheel of Misfortune, Yukira. Cagalli sang a truly, masterful rendition of Nookie while Kato was pelted with tomatoes." Mori said from his station at the helm, spinning around in amusement. "But of course, we recorded it for posterity. I'll be sure to send you a copy. You should get a few laughs out of it."

Yukira let out a hearty laugh as Cagalli blushed furiously. "I'll watch it just to see my dear little cousin sing!"

Mori sighed contentedly, leaning back in his chair. He was clearly proud of his work. "I should have gone into show business. That production was one of my best works to date. I can only imagine how it would have gone if I could have broadcast it live. The entire world would get to see just how spectacular I truly am!"

Kuro just let out an exasperated groan, all too used to his older brother's theatrics. Mori wasn't a bad guy, but there were times when his flamboyance just grated on his nerves! "Yeah, it would be broadcast on premium TV maybe. I sure don't want to know what you do to people who leave the seat down."

Mori got up, going over to pat him on the shoulder. "Ah, Kuro. I don't expect to you understand my mindset all the time. You see, I consider myself an artist at heart, and we artists see the world in a slightly different way than other people. But I digress. We have more pressing matters to deal with. As long as the _Archangel_ remains ensconced within Artemis, we have no way of getting to them." He looked to Tatsuo. "What do you say, esteemed leader?"

The older man just smirked, lightning up one of his prized cigarillos, taking a long drag. "The answer to that is simple, Mori my boy. We go for the gusto, as is our custom. However, it may be a good idea for us to wait until our good buddies in ZAFT make their move. Until then, we have to play the waiting game."

(Pilot's Lounge, PSV _Gamow_ , Artemis Airspace)

Yzak glared at the massive honeycomb shaped shield surrounding the rocky behemoth that was Artemis Station. "Damn it! We're so close, but as long as that stupid umbrella is up, we can't get at the legged ship." He slammed his fist into his open palm. "Those filthy Naturals can't be allowed to escape to the Moon. We have to stop them here."

"I'm glad we're on the same page then." Dearka muttered sarcastically as he leaned back on the couch. "I know you just want to get your hands on that one mobile suit with the big blade." He smirked a little, seeing the silent rage play out on Yzak's face. Despite his hair and eyes of ice, the blood of the scion of the Joule family ran red hot.

"Don't wind him up any further, Lieutenant Elsman." Captain Zelman, the master of the Gamow said. "We have to take action and quick. We all know Commander Le Creuset will want results. He's not the type you want to disappoint, but we already know that." There was an awkward silence between the three red clad pilots and black suited captain. While the man known as the White Meteor was usually a very soft-spoken, cultured individual, their commanding officer also had a reputation for being outright ruthless when he had to be, and no one, not even Yzak on his worst day, would dare cross the boss.

The conversation was halted when the wall mounted communications panel began beeping. Zelman walked over, answering the page. "This is Zelman, go ahead, bridge."

The _Gamow'_ s radar operations officer sounded rather nervous as he answered. "You're going to want to get up here right now, Captain. We've got a pair of ships inbound, they're approaching fast." The four men immediately tensed up with those words. They knew for a fact that Commander Le Creuset was still en route to the PLANTs, and they were the only ZAFT ship in the area they knew of.

"Is it the Earth Forces?" Yzak asked, fervently praying it wasn't. Even with the G-Weapons on their side, they were still only one ship, and between Artemis's own substantial forces, and any other ships the Earth Alliance would have sent, it could have given even the three redcoats a lot of trouble.

"No Lieutenant Joule, they're definitely ZAFT. Stand by the IFF code is transmitting." There was a sense of fear but also awe in the bridge tech's voice. "Oh wow…Captain Zelman, we may have actually have a chance here. The approaching are the _Calvin_ and the _Hobbes_ …it's Commander Connor's team."

"T-the Storm Wolves? The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due and his people are out here?" Nicol breathed. The three redcoats were immediately put into a state of awe. Any self-respecting ZAFT pilot knew the name of one of the best pilots the PLANTs had ever produced. His exploits of holding the line against the Fifth and Sixth Orbital Fleets at the asteroid base of Jachin Due secured his place in history.

"We'll be right up." Zelman said. "This could very well be the break we need for our little problem. Perhaps Commander Connor can provide a fresh perspective on this." The four immediately made for the bridge. "Distance from the _Calvin_ and _Hobbes_?" He asked of the sensor operator.

"They're about an hour away and closing fast sir." The bridge technician replied, his demeanor now much more relaxed. "I have to say, I feel sorry for the Earth Forces now. The only people they had who would be able to match the Wolves were the Zero Corps and they all bought it at Endymion!"

Yzak made it a point to check his uniform, smoothing it out, adjusting his collar, and making sure his hair was straight. Dearka snorted as he watched his comrade finished primping himself up. "I'm so glad you're finished, do I need hold up a mirror for you? What are you doing anyway? Are you preparing for a date?"

"It's Commander Connor, Dearka! We have to make a good first impression on him!" Yzak hissed.

"And by we, you're talking about yourself, right?" Nicol replied. Dearka's opinion of the youngest member of their team went up a couple of notches with that grade A piece of snark.

Yzak would have responded in his usual, fiery manner but the communications officer reporting the _Calvin_ was hailing them stopped him.

"Then put him on screen." Zelman said.

The monitor flared to life, producing the image of a young man of eighteen wearing the white uniform of a ZAFT team commander. He stood on the short side at five feet, six inches. Short, cut dark brown hair framed deep blue eyes, at first glance he seemed rather unremarkable, but if one looks deeper into those cobalt pools, there was far more depth than there should be for a man his age, the look of a seasoned warrior who had seen combat several times over, perhaps _too_ many times.

Standing at his side was a tall, statuesque woman wearing black just as Zelman was. If any of the crewmembers of the _Archangel_ were present at that moment, they would have been taken in at how just how much of a resemblance she bore to Flay, with her brilliant fire-engine red hair and blue-gray eyes.

Zelman and the three redcoats immediately snapped to attention, offering their best salute, which the two officers on screen returned. "It's good to see you Commander Connor, Captain Allster." Zelman addressed Sebastian, "I'll be lying if I said I wasn't relieved to know you were in the area."

"It's not a problem at all, Captain Zelman." Sebastian spoke in a relaxed baritone. "Regardless of how I feel about your boss, when we heard about Heliopolis, Maria and I reasoned it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by and see if we could help."

"We're certainly flattered to have you here, sir!" Yzak said, a little louder than usual. "Those Naturals don't stand a chance with your squad here." He could feel victory close at hand. "It won't be long before the Legged Ship is ours and those mobile suits are destroyed or captured for the glory of the PLANTs."

Dearka and Nicol just rolled their eyes in irritation, they knew Yzak was ambitious, but this was just painful to watch. Sebastian clearly shared their sentiment. "I have no need for suck ups, Lieutenant Joule." The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due just frowned, clearly not impressed at all. "So kindly take your lips off my ass right now." Yzak looked a little irritated that he was dismissed so easily, but even her wasn't so foolish as to mouth off to a superior officer, especially one of the Storm Wolf's stature.

Maria cleared her throat. "Moving right along, why don't you fill us in on the situation?" Zelman and the three redcoats launched into the attack on Heliopolis, and the subsequent pursuit of the _Archangel_ to Artemis. Neither Sebastian nor Maria said a word, just taking in every piece of information that was given to them.

"Ah yes, the fabled Umbrella of Artemis, a massive lightwave barrier that completely surrounds the entire base. The pinnacle of Eurasian Federation military technology, it's said to be impenetrable." Sebastian looked on thoughtfully. He gave a menacing smirk. "Of course, it just means taking that bad boy down will be all the greater accomplishment for everyone involved."

"You really think it's possible, Commander Connor?" Zelman felt silly for asking, but he wanted to be sure before committing to any kind of attack. "I'm stating the obvious here, but the Earth Forces aren't stupid. They will be keeping a close watch for any movements we make. Not even the combined might of the main batteries of our three ships would be able to even dent it."

"You're not wrong at all, Captain Zelman, as long as the barrier remains up, we can't do a thing." Sebastian gave a knowing smirk. "But what was working for you, can also work against you. Garcia is all too reliant on his precious Umbrella. It's been so effective up to this point, it's made him complacent. He feels he's untouchable."

Maria folded her arms, mirroring her commanding officer's grin. "But even the strongest of shields has its weak point." A graphic of Artemis came up, illuminating a series of points all along the asteroid's surface. "The Umbrellas are the numerous emitters required to generate it. If we can disable even a handful of them, their precious shield will be as useful as wet paper."

"So the challenge before is getting them to lower the shield." Yzak commented. "But I doubt that will happen any time soon, and even if it did. The minute any of our machines get close enough, they'll raise it and we'll be toast!"

"I think I may have the means to do it." Nicol stated, sitting at the console. "The Blitz is equipped with this Mirage Colloid system. It should allow me to approach the station undetected. I can take down the shield generators and the Umbrella will be completely useless then. It shouldn't be difficult for us to hit the legged ship on its way out."

Dearka just gave an arrogant smirk. "What a perfect strategy for a coward." He said in a dismissive voice. It was then Sebastian cleared his throat.

"Apologize to your squad mate right now, Lieutenant Elsman." The blonde sniper shrank back at the chilly tone of the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due's voice. "Lieutenant Amalfi's idea is far from cowardice. It's perfect. In war, you use every advantage given to you. The Earth Alliance no doubt developed this system just for situations as this. You clearly have done your homework, Lieutenant Amalfi, well done."

"Thank you, Commander Connor, coming from you I consider that high praise!" Nicol grinned sheepishly. He knew all too well that as the youngest of the squad, he would be looked down on. He would never be the marksman Dearka was, or as skilled in melee combat the way Yzak was, and Athrun was simply in a class all himself, but the young soldier remembered that the greatest weapon available wasn't a mobile suit or a gun, but his own mind, and now he was going to show everyone what he could do.

"If I were you, Captain, I would take the _Gamow_ out of Artemis airspace." Maria said. "If Garcia sees there's no longer a threat from you, he should drop the shields. Once that happens, you can send in Lieutenant Amalfi, he can start targeting the emitters, and then we can flush this new ship out."

"We'll get underway at once. I'll plot a course to meet up with you and then we can launch our strike together." Zelman said.

"Until then, Captain." Sebastian and Maria both saluted, and the monitor went dark.

Zelman looked to Nicol. "Go ahead and get suited up, Lieutenant Amalfi. We'll drop you off in the Blitz and then join up with Commander Connor's team. The shield should drop once we leave. Once that happens, just sit tight. We'll give you the signal and then you'll attack the emitters."

"Understood Captain!" Nicol saluted, departing the room. He went straight to the locker room and began suiting up. He felt a certain uneasiness, the entire operation was hinging on him being ready to strike when the time came, but he had studied at the Keystone Academy and earned the right to wear the strident red that indicated his status as an elite. So he wouldn't fail.

Nicol entered the hangar with purpose, boarding the Blitz Gundam. He slowly brought the mighty war machine to life. "This is Amalfi, I'm ready to depart." He then guided the machine not to the catapult, but the rear entrance. Not wanting to tip off anyone on Artemis, the Blitz would just simply step out of the airlock. And drift for a bit until the time came. About ten minutes after the _Gamow_ departed, the famed Umbrella came down. "A foolish move, one they'll pay for big." He remarked.

His brown eyes were fixated on the chronometer in the upper right-hand monitor, all the guiding the Blitz to a gentle landing on Artemis's rocky surface near one of the emitters. The minute the counter hit full zeros across the board, Zelman's voice came over the radio. "This is _Gamow_ Actual. You are weapons free, Blitz, light the place up!" Nicol said nothing. He would let his actions speak for himself. He brought his Phase-Shift at the time as the cloak deactivated.

Nicol whipped the Trikeros to the right, bringing the first emitter square in his sights. He opened fire, launching two quick rounds square into the device, leaving a smoking hole for a few seconds before it exploded. He then set his sights on the second one, firing all three kinetic penetrator darts. Since there was no Phase-Shift on the emitter, it was quickly destroyed.

He then ignited the beam saber, slashing through the third emitter, the now severed piece drifting idly into space. He repeated hits process on four more emitters, thus ensuring the Umbrella of Artemis would never open again. Nicol smirked. "I never liked umbrellas anyway, always too much chance of them getting broken!"

"Nice job, Nicol!" Yzak sounded genuinely impressed. "I'll admit I didn't think much of your plan at first, but now I can say it a lot of guile. I can respect that."

"Yeah, I can say the same thing. We're on our way, pal. Don't hog all the fun!" There was new respect in Dearka's voice as well. Nicol just smirked a little, resolving not to let either of them forget it, and eager to tell Athrun of the part he had played.

"Then you better hurry, Dearka!" Nicol said, flying around to the hangar where the Moebiuses were beginning to filter out. He sighed. "It's almost too easy with this." He said to himself. Nicol genuinely didn't feel any animosity toward Naturals in general, but they were the enemy and thus he had no choice but to do what had to be done. "I hope you can find peace." He whispered. The Blitz opened fire, taking out the first two mobile armors.

The Duel and Buster arrived just as the other Eurasian mobile armors began forming up. Dearka sneered. "Ah, how nice for the Earth Forces to give me some target practice." He joined his weapons together to form the fearsome gun launcher that was made to be the Buster's trademark. He opened fire, watching with great satisfaction as he downed three mobile armors in short order.

Yzak settled for launching a grenade from the underslung launcher on his rifle, he set it for proximity mode, causing it to explode outward, taking about four Mobeiuses at once. "I almost feel sorry for them, key word being almost!" He sneered, dropping a couple more with beam rounds. "Those fucking Naturals are going to pay for all they've done to us!"

"I'm glad you're fired up, Lieutenant Joule." A familiar voice said. The three Gundam pilots saw a trio of mobile suits, a trio of GINNs and a CGUE fast approaching, One GINN had what appeared to be a radar dish mounted to its back, the other had a standard loadout. But the CGUE was the most distinctive. If the colors weren't a giveaway then the heavy sword shaped like a katana, and the logo on the left shoulder, a wolf howling with a storm cloud in the sky and a lightning bolt lancing down in a blue circle, cemented it. "But don't let it blind your senses. That's a quick way to end up dead."

"Nice of you to join us, Commander Connor." Nicol said. Video images came to life in each of their cockpits, showing Sebastian, resplendent in a white ZAFT flight suit, while three other pilots, two men and a woman, all wearing elite red appeared as well. "It's nice to see you as well, Lieutenant Mason, Lieutenant DeMarchais."

"Aw, it's so nice you remembered us." Sebastian's executive officer and chief strategist, Lieutenant Shawn Mason, drawled. "Glad to see it's not just the Boss Man who gets all the attention, right Gabby? After all, a wolf never hunts alone."

The woman let out a delicate laugh. "But of course. We all stand as one pack." Lieutenant Gabrielle Demarchais, the team's designated markswoman spoke in a light tone, her French accent evident for all to hear. A hint of worry in her voice. "So these are the new mobile suits the Earth Alliance was developing. I must say, I never thought I'd see a Gundam in my life time."

The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due just gave slight nod of weariness. He had heard of the legends of the Gundams himself and it was unsettling to think they were making a sudden resurgence. "I have to agree with Gabrielle on this one. You've come by some very heavy-duty hardware. I never thought the Earth Alliance would be so desperate to resurrect those mechanical demons."

"It didn't do them much good, Commander. We managed to steal them easy enough." Dearka said, launching a barrage of missiles from his shoulder launchers. "But there's still the issue of the legged ship and its two machines. We can't let them escape from here in one piece!"

"No one engages the mobile suit with the large blade but me!" Yzak sneered, he was waiting for a rematch. He spun and dove into combat, looking for the machine that had caused him so much grief. He was an elite of ZAFT and no Natural would best him!

"Agreed, Lieutenant." Sebastian saw as the _Gamow_ , the _Calvin_ , and _Hobbes_ entered the fray. "This is Storm Wolf Actual to _Gamow_ Actual and _Calvin_ Actual, Captain Zelman, Maria, rattle the Eurasian's cage!" The response came in the form of a full barrage from the three ZAFT vessels, the two _Nazcas_ letting loose with its pair of 177cm high-energy beam cannons and twin 100mm railguns. The _Laurasia_ opened fire with its 937mm dual high-energy beam cannons, its battery of 450mm railguns, and 125mm beam cannons. The emerald beams, big around as tree trunks, and yellow charged projectiles streaked outward, tearing into the rocky surface of Artemis.

"Ha, enjoy that, Naturals?" Yzak leered. ZAFT had the superior firepower, and the advantage over the Earth Forces. It seemed victory was assured. But the mood quickly changed, when a yellow streak suddenly lanced from the void, managing to get hit in the starboard flank. "What the hell?" The ice haired pilot asked.

"We've been hit!" Zelman sounded frantic. "Damage is severe. Casualty reports are coming in from all over the ship, and several decks are on fire! Whoever these people are, they knew exactly where to hit us."

It was then Sebastian's eyes caught sight of something on a small planetoid a couple of kilometers above Artemis. "Gabby, get a solution on that." Gabby raised her rifle, zooming in on the possible origin point for the shot that hit the _Gamow_. "Do you see anything?" He asked.

"Oh Merde…" the Frenchwoman breathed. "Commander…it's a…it's a Gundam!" and with that every ZAFT pilot's focus came on the new arrival. A mobile suit that most definitely resembled the machines three of their numbers were piloting. It was colored a deep tan, and a pair of extra arms mounted on its backpack, it held a long, sniper rifle in its hand.

"Where in the hell did the Gundam come from?" Yzak raged.

"That's not possible. We got four of the prototypes and the other two are the legged ship! It's just not possible."

"That's because it's a not a prototype, Lieutenant Elsman." The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due remarked in a voice colored by awe and a healthy dose of respect. "It's the resurrection of a demon long thought to be dead, an original Gundam from the Reconstruction War…the Gundam Gunshot Rebake! Made for long distance sniping. I've studied it back at the Academy, but the pictures don't do it justice!"

"What kind of pilot could be at the controls of that thing?" Dearka wondered, he prided himself on being a pretty good marksman, but that shot required some insane skill. "He must be a genius!"

In the cockpit of the Gunshot Rebake, the pilot, wearing a tan flightsuit smirked. "Heh, nice shot, Aki." Kuro said from the monitor. "I'm surprised you didn't get the _Laurasia_ in the first go around though. Don't tell me you're losing your touch?"

"My aim was just off a little bit." Akihiro Atland frowned slightly. "I'll have to compensate a bit next

time."

"You're thinking too hard, bro. Just concentrate and let your instincts do the rest. That's what the Alaya-Vijinana is for after all." Kuro said. He frowned, noting a pair of white and green GINNs advancing on them. "Uh-oh, it looks some Storm Corgis want to play. I guess I'll have to step in then. After all, I can't let you have all the fun now, can I?"

Akihiro just chortled. "Do your thing, man." He just raised his rifle, ready to provide cover fire.

A pair of Sebastian's subordinates hadn't taken too kindly to seeing the _Gamow_ savaged like that. "Come on, Burns!" One of the pilots, a greencoat named Michael said. "Let's show this guy what it means to take on the Storm Wolves. We're the best for a reason and it's time for us to earn our paycheck!"

"I'm with you, buddy! Time to go on the hunt!" the other pilot, a greencoat named Burns sneered. "He can't take on both of us! All right chums, let's do this! Storm Wolves goooo!" He barked. The two GINNs engines kicked to life and they rushed the Gunshot.

"Storm Wolf Seven, Storm Wolf Nine, get back here right now!" Sebastian ordered, but his words fell on deaf ears, as Michael and Burns were determined to take this poser out. "Damn it, this is why I don't like hotshots! Those two were never good at taking orders, we have no idea who this enemy is or where they came from."

"Burnie, provide cover fire and I'll hit that thing up close, if it's a sniper type unit, it won't be good at melee combat!" Burns began opening fire with its rifle while Michael pulled out his heavy sword. "Time to die, mobile suit!" He let out a battle cry, when a white streak emerged from behind the asteroid that Akihiro had set up on. The blur slammed headlong into the white and green GINN, sending it flipping end over end.

Michael didn't have time to react, knocked around in the cockpit from the impact. He quickly righted his machine. "What the?" was all he had to say when a shadowy figure loomed over him, all the ZAFT pilot could see was a large extended horn like fin shaped in an oversized letter V, wielding what looked like a large mace. The oversized weapon swung and the entire cockpit reverberated with the sound of smashing metal. His screens went dead, indicating his main camera was taken out.

"Oh crap!" Michael screamed, trying to raise his rifle, but the cockpit shook again, the display indicated that the right arm had been completely crushed, rendering it useless. And then the most violent impacts yet happened, swinging him around his seat with his seat belt being the only thing keeping him from being tossed about like a ping-pong ball in the dryer.

And then finally the hardest impact struck, the cockpit hatch began bending inwards, a series of star shaped cracks forming on the now utterly trashed monitors. Michael was sure he had crapped his pants. And then everything went silent. "Is it over?" He whimpered, when all of a sudden, the entire front part of the cockpit began glowing, and a pole of frozen fire erupted through, melting him in seconds.

Burns could only watch in horror as the shattered metal hulk that had been once been his wingman's mobile suit drifted out of the view of his camera. He had witnessed everything that had happened, and it had been brutal. The white streak had been a G-weapon class mobile suit, and a vicious looking one at that. It had a rough, unfinished quality to it, missing the armor along the shoulders and waist, the massive V-fin and the claw like feet gave it a monstrous, even demonic look.

The weapon it carried, a giant mace, completed the motif. The mobile suit's blow had left a colossal dent in the GINN's right side, the armor crushing inward like it was made of the thinnest tin foil. The demonic mobile suit swung the mace again with incredible speed, this time crushing the head of Michael's GINN in a single blow. It would have been almost comical in a way, as if the machine's head had been punched down into the body, like in a cartoon.

Michael had tried to fight back, bringing his machine gun to bear, but the unknown mobile suit had struck first, this time swinging the mace, connecting with the GINN's right arm, rending it useless, the machine gun spiraling into the void, before going for the killing blow, smashing the mace into the torso a couple of times, the armor giving more and more with each impact, before it pointed the mace square at the cockpit. "Don't you dare you son of a bitch!" Burns roared, but it was to little avail, a beam not unlike on a beam saber, lanced out, neatly penetrating the cockpit, killing him in a second.

"Damn you!" Burns roared, drawing his heavy sword and attacking in a blind rage, once more ignoring the words of his commanding officer to withdraw. It was then the Gundam turned to look right at the angry ZAFT pilot, the green eyes flashed once. Burns brought his sword back for a backhanded diagonal strike, swinging with all his might.  
"This is for Michael!" He yelled

The attack was all for nothing, as the Gundam casually grabbed the blade in its free hand. Burns struggled to break free, but it wasn't happening. The blade shattered in the Gundam's claw like hand, and then it grabbed the GINN by the shoulder. Burns now felt the exact way his buddy did, as his machine was sent hurtling into the asteroid that that the Gunshot had been standing on, leaving a nice little crater and kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Burns struggled to get his machine on its feet and try to get some distance, but his opponent was on him before he even knew what hit him, landing square on his GINN's legs, causing him to instinctively scream even though his real limbs were just fine. He looked up and saw the tip of the mace just above his cockpit. "This day sucks!" Were his last words before the beam pile bunker ended his life.

Sebastian couldn't believe his eyes at how casually his men had been dispatched by the sinister looking mobile suit, the mace casually leaning against its shoulder. Both Burns and Michael's GINNs hadn't even exploded like normal; they were just crumpled up wrecks with crushed and impaled cockpits. "That mobile suit…" Gabrielle's horrified voice came in. "It's a demon!"

"You couldn't have put it better, Gabby. That mobile suit right there is The Gravesend Gundam." Sebastian's tone was somber. "And it's yet another relic of the Reconstruction War, it was known as the White Devil…and it's not hard to see why with a performance like that."

"You know your history very well, Commander Connor. So it's all the more reason why it's a bad idea to get involved in a fight with us." A deep baritone voice cut in. Akihiro had been listening to the enemy chatter and decided to say a few words. "Consider this payback for what your friend Rau did to Heliopolis. Let the deaths of your two men be a reminder. You want the _Archangel_ and the machines it carries? Then you'll have to fight us to get them."

That was enough for Yzak to hear, "How dare you say such a thing, you filthy Natural!" He snapped. "But then I suppose it's no surprise. "Your precious country talks all it wants about neutrality, but you support the Earth Alliance just the same!" Yzak sneered in contempt. "Of course, I shouldn't be surprised, it makes sense for cowards to band together, you're all the same!"

That only produced a bemused little chortle from Akihiro. "Oh wow, that's real cute coming from you, Lieutenant Yzak Joule." He was certain that Yzak was fuming in rage. "That's right, I know who you are, as well as your buddies, Zala, Elsman, and Amalfi. You used a sneak attack to get at the G-Weapons, and then blew the entire thing to hell in order to destroy one ship! Those are the tactics of someone who only cares about results. The White Meteor is a real piece of work, makes me wonder how much he's twisted your mind."

It was all Yzak could take, he wasn't going to let himself or his people be mocked any further! With a yell of incoherent rage, He ignited one of the Duel's beam sabers ignited within seconds of firing his mobile suit's thrusters. "I'm going to kill you!" He raged, totally blind to any commands Sebastian was giving out, even if Rau himself had been there, he wouldn't have been able to leash him in time.

"Yzak look out!" Dearka suddenly yelled, the pilot of the Duel was about to snap at his teammate when he saw a pair of yellow streaks hurtling straight toward him, and even with his enhanced reflexes, he wouldn't be able to get out the way in time.


	5. A Goddess Scorned Pt 2

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Fated Shift: Rearmed

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

A Goddess Scorned Pt. 2

(Artemis Airspace)

The pair of yellow streaks, indicating that railguns had been fired, sliced through the void, and they were on a direct course for the Duel. Yzak was so overcome by his rage and anger that he didn't see it coming until it was almost nearly too late. No one was in a position to intercept it the rounds, and it seemed that Yzak Joule would become just another casualty of the Bloody Valentine War. It was then another mobile suit, a GINN in white and green, bowled into him, sending Yzak tumbling a bit. He was about to snap at his would-be rescuer, when he saw the source of it.

"Hey Yzak, didn't I warn you that temper would get the best of you one day if you let it?" A voice drawled. The three redcoats couldn't believe their ears. "Because I'm pretty sure I've said that to you on repeated occasions." The monitor shifted on, revealing a young man in a green flightsuit, with blonde hair and brown eyes with a slight grin.

"Impossible…" Yzak trailed off. He remembered this man very well, and how he had been felled in a simple blow by the massive anti-ship sword wielded by the Strike at Heliopolis.

"It can't be…Miguel?" Dearka struggled to get the name out. "But we saw your GINN go up at Heliopolis, cleaved right in half! How are you still alive?"

Sergeant Miguel Aiman, another member of the Le Creuset Team, and known to his peers as the Magic Bullet of Dusk just chuckled warmly. "Very quick timing on my part and we'll leave it at that. I can thank Commander Connor for pulling my ass out of the fire. He found the remains of my mobile suit adrift and brought me in. When I heard that you guys were going after Artemis, obviously I wasn't going to let you guys have all the fun." He smirked with those last words.

"It's good to see you boys are catching up, but this is really not the time to do that!" Sebastian called out as his CGUE flew by, barely avoiding getting clipped by another artillery barrage, one of the rounds just coming within inches of knocking his head crest off. "We are still in the middle of an active war zone, in case all of you have forgotten!"

"Yes sir!" They all replied at once, reunions would have to wait until the situation was resolved. They all directed their attention back to the asteroid where another Gundam had emerged to stand with the Gunshot and Gravesend. Its armament included a pair of large railguns sat on the shoulders while it held a pair of machine guns in its hands. But what really put the three ZAFT pilots off was the fact that the mobile suit in question was colored a brilliant salmon pink. It almost seemed cartoonish, until the rail cannons fired again, managing to clip the _Calvin_ on the hull, leaving a good sized hole in the side, debris spiraling away into the void.

"Maria, give me a damage report!" The Storm Wolf barked, his heart stopping at the sight of his stricken carrier.

"Moderate damage, hull breach on decks 5 to 7, but we're still combat ready Storm Wolf Actual." Maria responded.

"Ooh, nice shot, Shino." Kuro quipped. "I hope ZAFT has a really good insurance policy."

"Did you really start this party without me, guys?" An easy-going voice drawled. "I'm so hurt!" Norba Shino, pilot of the Firestorm Gundam grinned. "Considering how long we've all known each other, I figured that would automatically give me first dibs!" This just elicited a bemused chuckle from Akihiro. He was all too used to his long-time friend's antics. The fact that he painted all of his mobile suits such a garish color and called it "The Ryusei-Go" was just something the crew of the K _agutsuchi_ had come to live with. He was a damn good shot with the Firestorm's artillery cannons and had managed to pull his crewmates out of the fire plenty of times, so they cut him some slack.

"There's still plenty of targets to go around, Shino. I doubt you're going to miss much." Kuro said. He was then joined by two more GINNs, Tatsuo's brown and silver machine, the other a brilliant ivory color, the head crest trimmed in gold, along with a pair of stenciled gold dragons on the shoulders. "I figured you would come out here, Yukira, but I wasn't expecting you as well, Tatsuo. You sure you're up to it?" He smirked. "I mean, the denture cream you're using is strong enough, right?"

The older man just snorted, as far as insults went, it wasn't that bad. "Just wait and I'll show you, kid! Hope you've got your diapers on! Atland, Shino, provide cover support. The three of us can handle these clowns. Let's hit it!" As Kuro and the two GINNS threw themselves into the melee with the ZAFT mobile suits, Shino and Akihiro remained on the asteroid, providing cover fire as necessary. Sebastian gave the order for all his people to scatter, and before long the airspace around Artemis devolved into numerous smaller fights. Kuro zeroed in on both the Duel and the Buster, engaging them two on one.

"Cover me, Dearka!" Yzak yelled, raising his beam rifle and opening fire on the Gravesend, but the machine quickly slipped to the side. This wasn't the machine that had humiliated him from earlier, but it would be a decent opponent for the moment. "The Storm Wolf's people may be the best, but let's see how you fare when you're taking on another Gundam!" Even though he had taken the Duel into a combat a few times already and felt he had a reasonable grasp of how the Gundam worked, Yzak was still in awe at the raw power the machine had compared to a GINN, even the CGUE, the best mobile suit ZAFT currently had, was still far outstripped by the blue and gray titan at his command.

"It's not just the crate, it's who's at the controls that matters." Kuro shot back, spinning the giant oversized mace with a quad blade tip, a few times, he wound up with a big overhand swing, bringing down on the Duel's head, only for it to be deflected by the anti-beam shield. "You may be a redcoat, but it doesn't mean anything if you let your temper get the best of you."

The youngest Sahaku moved with a cold efficiency, it was eerie how mechanical and unfeeling his movements had become. Even more so was the speed and dexterity he handled the massive weapon, and how mercilessly he kept smashing away at the Duel. The Buster was doing its best to keep at a distance, making use of its long range fire to support its partner, in that regard the Gravesend was at a disadvantage since it had no ranged weaponry, but it made it up for it with sheer blinding speed, managing to evade and almost dance through the Duel and Buster's combined attacks.

One of the GINNs saw fit to get involved, but sadly the poor greenshirt hadn't been paying attention. Kuro swung the mace, once, twice, caving in the head, and crushing the side, before pointing the tip fo the weapon at the cockpit, a metal blade jutted out from the center, neatly impaling it, sending the stricken mobile suit tumbling into the void like before. It was then Miguel got in on the action, going to hit the Gravesend from behind with heavy sword ready, only for Kuro to whip around, performing a near flawless spin hook kick across the ZAFT machine's head. "Miguel!" Dearka called out.

"I'm okay you guys." Miguel rasped. "I'm not going to die that easily!"

"Just be sure!" Yzak snarled in quiet fury, this mobile suit was proving to be an even bigger headache than initially thought. But he, Dearka, and Miguel were all members of the Le Creuset Team and proud sons of the PLANTs. They would succeed in the mission, one way or another!

(Artemis Airspace)

The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due knew he was one of the best ZAFT had to offer, but he wasn't so foolish to think he had no equal. He was currently locking up with Tatsuo, the two having forgone the machine guns and gone straight for the heavy swords. The white and green CGUE currently had his custom weapon, shaped in the form of his sword of choice straining against the more conventional broadsword Tatsuo was wielding. "So it's the mighty Storm Wolf himself. I should feel honored." Tatsuo quipped as he swung upwards, only to be met by the curved blade.

"You're not bad yourself." Sebastian raised the shield gatling sending a barrage of 28mm shells at the brown GINN, but Tatsuo had seen too many battles to fall for such a basic attack. The ZAFT ace raised his machine guns, the 76mm shells streaking through the void, managing to catch Tatuso's machine on the right leg and in the shoulder. But the older man paid it little mind. His machine bore the marks and dents of countless battles, he felt it gave his mobile suit character that way. He brought his own heavy rifle up, spitting out yellow streaks of death. The two mobile suits made several high speed passes at each other, exchanging sword strikes all the while keeping up the fire on each other.

Although truthfully, Tatsuo wasn't really putting his all into the fight. He knew that he could easily stand on equal terms with the younger man, as he had twice the experience as Sebastian. However, Tatsuo wasn't looking to strike down ZAFT's greatest pilot. He was just buying for time. The _Kagutsuchi_ had gone under cloak, and currently circling around in a wide circle to catch the the ZAFT ships from behind. "Captain, we're getting into position. We should be there in roughly five minutes." Alissa reported.

"Prime the weapon systems and target the lead ZAFT ship. Just wait for my signal." Tatsuo said, firing off another half-hearted barrage at his opponent. Unlike the younger man, he really saw no need to go for a finishing blow, his job was just to buy time.

Sebastian's CGUE dodged to the left, avoiding another assault from the brown and silver GINN. He raised his rifle to go for Tatsuo's head, only for a barrage of emerald beams to cut through, one clipping his mobile suit's right shoulder. The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due looked to where the Gunshot had its sniper rifle raised. It was then the green lances were joined by a barrage of yellow streaks from the Firestorm took a chunk out of the Storm Wolf's CGUE, taking off the very tip of his mobile suit's head crest.

His entire cockpit shook as Tatsuo's GINN dropkicked him from behind. "Don't forget about me, kid!" He grunted, swinging his sword around. Sebastian barely had time to raise his shield, blunting the brown GINN's attack, before swinging his own blade upward, the two mobile suits were caught in a fierce blade lock. Tatuso smirked. "I have to admit, I haven't had this much fun in years. I suppose I'll have to get a little more serious now."

The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due's blue eyes narrowed as he watched his squadmates continue to engage Tatsuo's forces, unloading another barrage from his shield gatling at the enemy GINN, watching as a few of the 28mm rounds managed to catch him on the leg and hip, but Sebastian got it right back, as 76mm shells ripped into his left shoulder and right leg. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected this to be an easy thing."

(Artemis Airspace)

Yukira and Gabrielle were having their own tussle. the two GINNs clashed, while Gabrielle utilized the standard armament any GINN has access to, Yukira had outfitted her mobile suit with stronger thrusters and a pair of large combat daggers instead of the usual heavy sword. Which the white haired Attha heiress were putting to great use, the smaller blades moving much faster than the blonde Frenchwoman's own weapon. Gabby cursed as she barely missed managing to hack off Yukira's right arm. "Merde, I'm not an expert with a blade the way the commander is!" She raised her assault rifle, squeezing off a few quick rounds, the ivory and gold mobile suit quickly jerked to the left.

"Not bad, but it's not going to win you any medals!" Yukira sneered, getting a quick boost from her thrusters, vaulting over the Storm Wolf pilot's GINN, and going for a kick to the side of the head, before slashing downwards with her left hand knife. Gabrielle managed to twist her mobile suit to the side to avoid any strikes. But then Yukira took her right hand blade in an overhead grip, managing to catch the ZAFT pilot in the shoulder, leaving a jagged rent int the armor that exposed the circuitry and wiring underneath. the other blade caught Gabby's machine in the left hip.

Screaming out a violent curse in French, Gabby put aside any subtlety, and full out bodychecked Yukira's machine to throw her opponent off balance, following it up with a hail of 76mm shells right to Yukira's GINNs face, chewing almost a third of the mobile suit's head off. She then went to finish it off with a single horizontal slash from her heavy sword, but luckily for Yukira, Akihiro was on hand and fired a round that forced her to separate quickly.

Yukira's nostrils flared in rage at the damage done to her mobile suit. While she was silently grateful for the quick rescue, the mobile suit was one of her most treasured possessions and it was always a guarantee that it would set her off. "Thanks for the assist, Aki. She just made a big mistake!" She said, her eyes narrowing. "Okay, that's how you want to play it you skank? Then let's get down and dirty!" She flipped her knives into a reverse grip. "I'll show you just dangerous it is to mess with the Ivory Dragon when she's pissed off!" Their battle took them all over the outside of the structure of the Eurasian battle station. The white haired Attha heiress's blood was up after the way her GINN was damaged earlier. She had completely forgone her rifle, utilizing just her combat knives.

"I hope you die slowly and painfully!" Yukira raged, kicking Gabby's GINN multiple times, batting aside the heavy sword before going for a back hand slash. Although her opponent hadn't gotten the redcoat for a reason.

"This is for earlier!" Yukira snarled, burying her knife straight into the GINN's left shoulder. She managed to pull the jagged edge of the knife down through the armor, leaving a ragged hole from the shoulder, down to its metallic abdomen, getting dangerously close to the cockpit. Gabby had winced as her alarm began blaring angrily, showing the damage on the monitor, but Yukira wasn't finished by a long shot, she was going to make an example out of her.

The other knife buried itself into the white and green GINN's shoulder, and then she pulled it out, hacking off the right arm entirely, before plunging it into the head, destroying the monoeye sensor. "You can send the bill to Mishima Security Consulting!" Yukira smirked, satisfied with her revenge, she banked off, leaving Gabby's stricken machine adrift.

"Gabby, are you all right?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm fine, Commander. Although I think I'm out of this fight for now." She said.

"You're still alive, that's what counts." the Storm Wolf was clearly relieved. There was nothing more important to him than keeping his people alive, especially since he had already lost a few of his men already.

(Artemis Airspace)

The Duel, Buster, Blitz and Miguel's borrowed GINN continued their running battle with the Gravesend. The three using well forged teamwork to take on the mad beast that was Kuro in the Gravesend. the Sahaku was currently zeroing in on Dearka, seeing him as the greatest threat. With the way it clutched the mace, it made the mobile suit almost look like a true demon. The blonde redcoat was certain this image would be haunting his dreams for the rest of his life, but he wasn't about to go down that easily. He opened up with the 350mm gun launcher, managing to catch the Gravesend in the shoulder, but the mace still found its mark, one of the blades scratching across the torso, the Phase-Shift Armor the only thing keeping Dearka from being sliced to ribbons.

"Watch it, Dearka!" Yzak called out, opening fire with his beam rifle, hoping to draw Kuro's attention away from his teammate, the green beams just harmlessly splashed off the nano-laminated armor. He silently cursed, not wanting to make the same mistake again. "Miguel, I'll try and draw its attention, see if you can get him from the other side! Nicol, make use of the Blitz's Mirage Colloid and try to get him with the Trikeros. Once you do that, Dearka see if you can take care of those other two Gundams!"

Nicol immediately activated the Blitz's Mirage Colloid, the mobile suit rippling out of sight.

"Easier said than done, but I'll do what I can!" Dearka said, connecting his two weapons together, blasting at Kuro point blank range, it didn't do any lasting damage, but the 350mm round still packed enough punch to send him hurtling back. Dearka quickly jerked to the left, putting his thrusters to full throttle and managing to put as much distance between him and the Gravesend. He zeroed in on the other two Gundams. "Eat this!" He yelled, opening fire with both his beam cannon and gun launcher, this time also firing off a full barrage of 220mm missiles.

"Oh shit!" Akihiro yelled as the wave of death rapidly advanced on them. "Shino, move!" The two mobile suits quickly leapt off the asteroid, the Buster's attack slammed into the rock.

"Damn, that was close!" the artillery specialist remarked, seeing their former perch, now with a few new craters marking its surface.

"Yeah, we're going to have pay them double for that!" Akihiro smirked, raising his rifle. It was then the Blitz shimmered into view as it decloaked right in between them. Nicol opened fire with the Trikeros's kinetic penetrator darts, managing to catch both Shino and Akihiro off guard. He managed to catch the Gunshot in the left shoulder while spearing one of the Firestorm's machine guns. Nicol then ignited his beam saber, attacking fast and hacking off one of the rail cannons on the artillery mobile suit, before fading back into cover as fast as he could. "Okay, guys, I managed to give you some breathing room!"

"Nice shot, Nicol!" Yzak said. He hadn't thought much of the youngest member of their team, but that one moment had shown he was anything but a coward.

While Dearka had managed to disrupt their enemy's cover fire, Miguel had managed to go toe to toe with the Gravesend. He raised his machine gun, opening fire on the Gravesend. He cursed inwardly, wishing he had his custom GINN at the moment. He wasn't sure how much good it would have done, the faster thrusters would have given him a much needed edge. In the meantime, he would just have to make due. The Gravesend managed to close the distance between them, the heavy sword and mace locked up against each other. Kuro put more leverage on his weapon, managing to catch Miguel's blade between the prongs, and snapped it in half.

Time slowed for the Magic Bullet of Dusk as the mace thrusted forward, the pile bunker aimed right at the cockpit, but an explosion suddenly erupted from the Gravesend's back, giving Miguel a chance to get away. He looked to see the Duel, who had just fired a grenade that caught him in the back. Even if the beams couldn't scratch the armor, the kinetic force could still hurt. Kuro brought his weapon around to get at the Duel, only to realize too late that Yzak had gotten above him, beam saber primed, with a clean, double slice the flaming blade hacked through the upper part of the mace, leaving just the shaft and the lower part of four blades, now a twisted, molten mess.

Yzak practically cackled in victory, finally they had managed to score a significant blow against this monster of a machine. "Ha! not so tough without your oversized club!" He jeered at Kuro.

"Don't get overconfident Yzak!" Miguel called out, reloading his machine gun. "He's not done yet!"

Kuro looked at the slagged tip of his mace. "Well crap." He uttered, tossing the now useless weapon aside. He reached up, pulling out a thin, slender looking metal blade. "I guess it's time for plan B then." He brought up his new blade. "And don't think your little toy will slice this in half, it's coated with nano laminated armor, so it can take the heat!"

"Miguel, we can handle this guy, go and help Commander Connor!" Yzak said.

"Just be careful you three." He said, firing his engines and taking off in the direction of where Sebastian and Tatsuo were still fighting. One of the other Storm Wolf GINNs was currently trying to help his commander, only to get his legs and one of the engines blasted off by a salvo of missiles from Artemis's base defenses. It spiraled out of control, slamming into the shield of the Umbrella.

(Artemis, Hyperion Hangar)

The entire room suddenly shook from the impact. Yukimasa and Kejiro looked to each other. "I think our ticket out of here just arrived." The Sahaku heir said. "I'm guessing that Tatsuo and his boys are having a good time. We should probably get going, Kei."

A mad chuckle escaped from his friend's lips. "You're absolutely right. I think it is time for us to blow this popsicle stand, Masa! You go and find the others. I'll clear a path for us." Keijiro smirked as he sealed the cockpit hatch. He immediately began keying the controls, bringing the mobile suit on line. "I'm going to have so much fun with this! All right, let's see what the best minds of the Eurasian Federation have come up with when it comes to their mobile suit technology." He broke free of the moorings holding it in place. The Hyperion Unit 2 began tromping about on heavy metallic footsteps. "Here comes the sun!" Keijiro began madly cackling, as he found his way into the main hangar where the fortress's main garrison was located. Mobiuses were priming to take off and engage the ZAFT forces as the ships warmed up their power cores.

For Keijiro Mishima, it may as well have been target practice! "Say hello to my little friend!" He sneered, raising his beam rifle, opening fire on the nearest ship, a _Drake-_ class frigate, punching a smoldering hole clean through the hull just forward of the bridge. In a couple more seconds the ship exploded, the sphere of pink fire taking the _Nelson_ and a second _Drake_ on either side with it, starting a domino effect, consuming mobile armors and ships alike. Keijiro just watched the carnage unfold, the flames dancing in his eyes. He only had one thing to say. "Ooh, pretty. What can I blow up next?" A few mobile armors saw the Gundam and begin attacking. The stoner just let out a maniacal laugh. "Okay then! Come at me bro!"

The Mobiuses opened fire with their 40mm cannons. Without the Phase-Shift Armor of the G-series, the rounds would have ripped into the Hyperion in short order. But Keijiro had a much better defense, with a grin that would unsettle many, he flipped a single switch on the control board, and a smaller version of Artemis's best known feature flickered to life around the mobile suit in a dome shaped hexagonal grid, the shells bouncing off and spraying in all directions. "Oh this is so great! Let's see what else this bad boy has?" Keijiro went digging about in the weapon's menu and he lit up, almost squeeing in delight. "Forfanterie Beam Cannons? Yes, please!" The Gundam's wings flipped up, "Let's get this-a party started!" He sang, squeezing the trigger, a pair of massive red and blue beams lanced out, punching into the walls, shattering everything its path.

Keijiro's eyes were shining in pure delight. "Oh, this is way too much fun!" His face twisted into a near sadistic smirk. He was just getting warmed up and still plenty of targets to take on! He brought the beam rifle up. "I hope you Eurasian pukes brought your diapers, because you'll be shitting your pants before too long!" He cackled madly, "All right, chums, let's do this! KEIJIRRROOOO! MISSHIMMMAAAA!" With that the Hyperion flew straight into the middle of the enemy formation, beam rifle and cannons blazing.

(Artemis, Interior)

As Keijiro was going about on his merry business. Yukimasa prowled down the corridors. He had felt the entire station shaking from Keijiro's diversionary attack in the harbor. "He's going to be beside himself for weeks." He remarked to no one in particular. He kept running, trying to avoid passing security patrols. "I need to find an access terminal of some kind, otherwise I'll never be able to find where the officers are, much less the Strike and Masamune!" His diligence was rewarded when he found a computer station in the wall. His fingers flew over the keyboard with a speed that would make Kira jealous. He smirked as he found what was needed. "Okay, the Gundams are in Hangar 6A, and Murrue and the others are in the conference room three floors up!"

Yukimasa wisely decided to stick to the steps, since there was no guarantee the elevators would be safe with all the madness happening outside. The entire base was on high alert, soldiers running everywhere trying to get a handle on everything. He ducked in and out of rooms and corridors, trying to the stick to the shadows. It wasn't long before he found the conference room where Murrue and the other officers were being held. A single guard was keeping a vigil at the door. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a single coin, "Keep the change." He whispered, throwing the money down the hall, where it bounced off the metal wall, creating a distinct plinking sound.

The guard turned, and walked down the hall to investigate, Yukimasa smirked, and slowly began advancing behind him, growing closer with each step. Faster than a whip, He wrapped his arm around the hapless soldier's neck, getting him in a chokehold. The guard grunted and flailed about while trying to escape. "That's a big arm, dude, don't fight it. Just go to sleep and I'll be out of your hair before you know it." Yukimasa whispered, and slowly but surely the thrashing subsided and the guard went off to happy dream land, slumping to the floor. He took the guard's radio and keycard, swiping the latter through the lock, letting the doors open and the very relieved officers come out. Even Natarle looked glad to see him.

"It took you long enough." Mu said as Yukimasa helped himself to the guard's pistol as well.

"Keijiro and I had to kiss up to the good Admiral for a little bit, but I think we've worn out our welcome." He took the guard's radio, flipping it to a random frequency. "Keijiro, it's Masa. I've liberated the Captain and the other officers. It's time to start working on our exit strategy. See if you can take down the Umbrella while we recover the other Gundams and get the hell out of here!"

"Can do!" Keijiro chimed, the sheer levity in his voice indicating just how much fun he was having.

"What is he up to, exactly?" Sharon asked.

"I'll explain everything when we get out of here, Lieutenant Heim, for right now, we have work to do." Yukimasa was all business, turning to face Murrue. "Captain, the junior officers and all civilians are currently being held in the cafeteria three floors down from here. The Strike and the Masamune are currently being kept in a hangar in the northern quadrant. Once we set everyone free, Kira and I will go and retrieve the Gundams. You get everyone on board the _Archangel_. The two of us will meet up with you, and then do what we can to provide cover, so we can get out of here."

"Then let's go retrieve our crew and go home." Murrue said, the five ran to the nearest staircase. Time was of the essence.

In the cafeteria, everyone was waiting with baited breath, every impact was felt as the room shook. The alarm klaxons had started blaring, while the warning lights went off, bathing everything in an eerie red glow. Kira felt Yui's grip on his hand tense just a little as the lights began flickering. "I think that's the signal you mentioned, Flay." He remarked. The entire room shook yet again, even harder this time, causing both girls to cry out. Kira instinctively grabbed both Yui and Flay to keep them from falling to the ground.

"It sounds like the end of the world out there!" Kuzzey whimpered.

"Maybe this means we have a chance to bust out!" Tolle said. The sounds of shouting and punches landing could be heard outside. The doors of the cafeteria swung open, admitting Yukimasa and the officers. Relieved murmurs went up amongst everyone.

"Is everyone okay?" Murrue asked, quickly taking charge.

"Yeah, we're all present and accounted for here, ma'am." Arnold said, slamming a fist into his open palm. He hadn't appreciated the rough treatment given to them by their would be allies at all. "I can assume that we're vacating the premises?"

"Oh yes indeed, Chief Petty Officer Neumann. I think we've worn out our welcome here." Natarle said, looking to Kira. "Mr. Yamato, we have the location of the Strike. We want you and Mr. Sahaku to go and retrieve them. I'm not about to let the Eurasians have them for any longer." Kira seemed hesitant, looking to Yui. While he was relieved to know that they had the means to escape. He also didn't want to leave his girlfriend either.

It was something Sharon was quick to pick up on. She came over, giving Kira a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Rest assured we will get everyone to the ship in one piece, Kid. But at the same time we can't leave the G-weapons here either." The busty pinkette just winked at him. "So be the badass we know you are."

Kira held Yui's hand for a little bit longer, she bowed her head slightly, face bright red as she gave him a gentle smile, before she finally leaned in kissing him right on the lips. This got a few hoots from Tolle, who was quickly silenced by an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Miriallia. "Go, I'll be fine." She whispered.

Yukimasa just rolled his eyes, letting out a bemused sigh. "Our lives are in mortal peril and still they find the time to to act all lovey-dovey." He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Yukimasa turned right into a deep kiss from his own girlfriend, as Flay threw her arms around his neck. The two of them parted, Flay giving him a dazzling smile, her cheeks the same shade as her hair. Yukimasa just let out a dopey sounding laugh, squeezing Flay's hand tenderly. "Of course, even the biggest badasses won't say no to a little resolve strengthening from a loved one!"

"Enough of the shenanigans, let's get moving!" Natarle snapped. Murrue led everyone to the docking bay where their ship was located, while Kira and Yukimasa took off the other direction toward the hangar.

Yukimasa pulled out the radio he took from the guard. "Keijiro, it's Masa. We've sprung everyone out and Kira and I are on our way to pick up our machines. It's time to move to phase 2! I need you to start targeting the Umbrella emitters, otherwise we'll never get out of here."

"Just leave it to me. I'll make that pathetic little Umbrella of Garcia's shatter like glass!" Kira couldn't help but find the stoner's voice to be especially eerie as he said this. The two said nothing as they continued hurrying to their destination.

Keijiro had managed to shatter what had once been an entire fleet all on his own. Most of the ships were smoking piles of slagged metal, and the Mobeiuses were little more than tiny slivers of metal. He flew out of the harbor to see the epic throw down between ZAFT and Tatsuo's forces. A part of him yearned to leap in and join the fighting. However, Keijiro knew that there would be other battles to fight, he had to secure an escape route for the _Archangel_. He turned the radio to a frequency he knew Mishima Security used. "This is Keijiro Mishima in Hyperion Gundam Unit-2. Tatsuo, I know you can hear me, just hold them off for a little bit longer, I'm going to try and sanitize the station's AA defenses." With that, he set to work, targeting the station's defensive batteries, a barrage from the beam rifle destroyed a missile battery. He drew one of his beam knives and sent it flying at a beam cannon current "Just a few more." He muttered.

(Artemis Airspace)

The Storm Wolf was finding his back against the wall. Tatsuo was proving to be a hardier foe than he initially thought. It also didn't help that he had to constantly avoid cover fire from Shino and Akihiro once they had found a new perch to alight upon. Nicol had been haranguing the the Gunshot and Firestorm with hit and fade tactics, making use of the Gleipner grappling claw to pull Akhiro's sniper rifle and Shino's remaining railgun out of line, but the Mirage Colloid was running out and the Blitz just didn't have the firepower to deal with the other two Gundams in a protracted firefight.

Tatsuo could also sense that Sebastian was starting to falter, he was going spring on him the first chance could get. Sebastian fired with the shield gatling, only for the weapon to click dry as he expended the last of his ammunition. The 76mm wasn't much better, he was down to one last magazine. Not to mention Sebastian was starting to get worn down. He tried to fend off Tatsuo's latest strike, only to end up catching the edge of the heavy sword, caving in the CGUE's left hip, leaving a nasty looking dent, he then chained it with an arcing slash that knocked off the white and green mobile suit's head crest.

The Storm Wolf growled, wondering if this was finally the end of his long hunt, as he started defiantly down the barrel of Tatsuo's machine gun. Only for the Magic Bullet of Dusk to tag in, kicking Tatsuo off balance, following with a burst of gunfire. "Mind if I cut in for a little while, Commander Connor?" Miguel asked, firing his rifle, forcing Tatsuo to withdraw a little bit.

"Thank you, Sergeant Aiman. You can do whatever you want." Miguel was still more or less fresh since Yzak and Dearka had done most of the heavy lifting in the fight against the Gravesend. He still had plenty of ammunition and his mobile suit was relatively intact. Tatsuo had burned through most of his ammo and his GINN would need some serious time in the repair bay when this was all over. Although the old soldier wasn't bothered too much. This was just another day at the office for him.

(Artemis, Command Center)

The entire command staff was in an uproar, trying to get a handle on the situation. The last thing they wanted was for the admiral "What is going on here?" Garcia barked as he barged onto the bridge, his uniform jacket unbuttoned, watching the monitors as Keijiro was still ripping through Artemis's garrison forces. His eyebrows shot up in disbelief at the sight of one of his beloved creations destroying all of his forces. "Who has taken control Unit-2?" Garcia began panicking at the thought of ZAFT somehow managing to get past Artemis's defenses, the Umbrella included, in order to snag one of the H-Weapons, but the rational part of his mind reasoned that it couldn't be ZAFT. His face twisted into a demented scowl as he realized who was really behind it. "Those lying backstabbers!" He hissed.

But before his rant could go any further, it was then Hyperion Unit 1 appeared, taking up the whole length of the main viewport. "Oh finally! Lieutenant Pars, deal with this problem!" However, the Gundam didn't move, just hovering impassively. "Is there a problem with your communications array? I said attack Unit-02!" Relief turned to terror, when the Hyperion turned around, and he found himself staring straight down his own creation's beam rifle. "W-what is the meaning of this, Lieutenant?" Garcia prayed he hadn't crapped his pants, when Canard's face appeared on a nearby screen.

"This should be obvious, you fucktard." Canard snarled, his violet eyes blazing in unrestrained anger. "I'm not going to be your pawn anymore!" The sheer hatred in Canard's voice was laced with a sadistic pleasure. It was evident that the young Coordinator had been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and he was going to relish every second of it while he could. "One shot from me and you're nothing but dust in space. If you ask me, it couldn't happen to a better guy!"

"Now, just wait a minute here, Canard!" Garcia struggled to keep his composure in front of his men. It wouldn't do for him to appear weak, even though he felt as if he was going to lose control of his bowls. "Don't forget our history together. We go back a very long way, you and I. Remember who saved you from that lab. If it wasn't for me, you would be nothing more than a glorified lab rat, being used for every test under the sun just because of your heritage!" Garcia only got a hollow, empty laugh in return, and a middle finger to his face.

"Oh, dream on, you Spanish cunt! I know full well who was behind by capture in the first place!" He smirked as Garcia's face went pale. "By the way, Admiral. You really should change the password on your computer. The fact you name it after your favorite Spanish greyhound isn't exactly a very well kept secret. You had me thrown into a fucking cage and used me for whatever you fucking felt like! Well, that ends here! Good bye Admiral!" The screen went dark, and the tip of Hyperion Unit-1's beam rifle began glowing.

"Launch the other units!" Was the last thing Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia would utter, before his life finally came to an end as a wall of fire consumed him, starting by burning off his uniform, his flesh followed shortly after. Amazingly he felt very little pain, his only regret was not buying that one Ming Dynasty vase he had seen online when he was still just a lieutenant climbing through the ranks. The light overtook him, reverting him to nothing but ash that would forever float through the void of space.

(Artemis, Hangar 6A)

Kira and Yukimasa finally reached where the Strike and Masamune were being kept. Amazingly there were no guards around. The sheer chaos that had been thrown up had seen them attending to greater threats, which was good for them. They entered the hangar to see little in the way of guards and mostly technicians crawling around the two machines. Yukimasa fired the gun he took from the soldier into the air once, causing more than a few of them to cry out. "All right, ladies and gentlemen. I personally have nothing against you people, but I will kindly ask you guys to get your hands off those mobile suits, they don't belong to you. Kira, go ahead and mount up."

He kept the gun trained on the terrified support staff, slowly moving to the Masamune as Kira got into the Strike. As the young student turned pilot settled down in the cockpit. He removed the encryption lockout he had put on the operating system before they had entered the station. Much to Kira's relief, the Eurasians hadn't managed to get through it. He quickly keyed the systems to life, bringing the mighty war machine to life. "This is the Strike, I'm all lit up." He said.

"I read you loud and clear, Kira. Get ready to move out on my command." Yukimasa said, shifting to another frequency. "This is Masamune 1 to _Archangel_ Actual, the Gundams have been secured. What's your situation with the ship, Captain Ramius?" He was rewarded with the image of a smiling Murrue proudly sitting in the command chair on the bridge of her ship.

"The ship has been secured and ready for takeoff, Colonel Sahaku. The guards were relatively easy to subdue." It had been true, Mu and Neumann both managed to knock them out, and then they were able to retake the ship with little trouble. "We're spinning up the engines now and should be ready to depart at once."

"Understood, Keijiro is working on the shield, and some associates of mine are busy dealing with our friends in ZAFT. Give it about five minutes, and it should be safe to leave." Murrue just nodded, and the screen went dark. Yukimasa flipped back to Kira. "Okay, Kira, let's get out of here. I don't know if Keijiro needs our help, but we should just make sure." Kira said nothing, and the two mobile suits flared to life, flying out of the hangar and away from the station.

(Artemis Airspace)

Since Miguel had taken over fighting Tatsuo, Sebastian took the respite to stand above it all, going to a position over the entire battlefield that gave them the chance to watch the multiple brawls unfolding before him. He saw where Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol were still clashing with the Gravesend. The three redcoats had performed admirably today, managing to hold their own against the sheer brutality that was Kuroto Takeshi Sahaku in the cockpit. The Buster had fallen back, using its incredible array of firepower to cover his squadmates. Yzak had shown no fear in engaging the demonic looking machine up close and personal, the beam saber straining against the nano-laminated armor blade Kuro was using.

Nicol was making full use of the Blitz's capabilities to get in its own blows before fading out, providing another layer of distraction so all the heat wasn't on Yzak, but it couldn't last forever. Even the Gundams had their limits, and Sebastian had to believe they were close to meeting them. Shawn had rallied the remaining Storm Wolves, using numbers to try and distract Akihiro and Shino from laying down covering fire, but it was still costly, the Gunshot Rebake and Firestorm were true titans, having already crushed three more of the white and green GINNs.

Since Gabrielle had been subdued, Yukira had been taking out her frustration on the rest of the assembled ZAFT forces, having just eviscerated another of the Le Creuset Team's few remaining GINNs. Sebastian winced at the casualties piling up. He had started with a full squad of fourteen when this started, and was now down five people, and if this was over, all that would be remaining of Rau's forces were the three Gundams.

Sebastian couldn't help but think something was off. It was then it hit him. The whole time they had been held at bay by five mobile suits, but there hadn't been any indication of where they came from. "Oh no." He quickly switched to an open channel. "This is Storm Wolf Actual to all units. Something isn't right here. We've got enemy mobile suits, but there's no carrier in the area. They must have launched them and are coming around from another direction. Keep your eyes open for any possible disturbances."

"It's all scare tactics! They're just trying to drive us off!" Yzak sneered. He was tired of being toyed with. Destroying the Gravesend's mace had been a small victory and it had gone to his head. He had his target right in his cross hairs. "I'm going to make them pay for making an mockery of us! For the glory of the PLANTs!" Letting out a war cry, the white haired ZAFT pilot charged straight at Gravesend. So blinded by defeating his opponent, he didn't notice the _Kagutsuchi_ begin to shimmer into existence right in front of him as its Mirage Colloid cloak began to dissipate.

"Crap!" Yzak screamed, madly trying to avoid slamming right into the _Izumo_ -class ship's hull.

"Yzak look out!" Miguel yelled, but this time no one was able to keep their reckless teammate out of danger. He found himself in the direct path of the _Kagutsuchi's_ weapons. The CIWS began pelting the Duel with 75mm shells, even if the Phase-Shift Armor managed to deflect the rounds, the sheer volume of shells managed to throw the Gundam off guard. The heavy barrage of missiles that followed proved to be more difficult, but even Yzak wasn't stupid enough to realize how much trouble he was in when he saw the dorsal Gottfried turret swing his way. The twin barrels glinting ominously before opening up with a pair of massive green beams.

"Oh shit…" was all Yzak had time to say, bringing up his shield in the hopes that he could at least defend himself from the worst of it, as the light from the beam cannons overwhelmed him.

"Yzak!" Dearka screamed, watching in horror as the explosion blossomed out into the void of space. He banged his fist in anger against the wall. "You stupid, stubborn bastard!" The Gravesend was soon in the Buster's face, the sleek metal katana aimed for a back hand slice that would have decapitated the mobile suit. Dearka barely had time to block with his gun launcher. "I'm going to kill you son of a bitch for what you did to Yzak!" the dark skinned blonde wasn't the type who was quick to anger, but seeing one of his best friends get offed was a fast way to get his blood boiling.

The next few seconds were absolute chaos as the _Kagutsuchi_ joined the fray, beam cannons and missiles firing in every direction. The _Calvin_ , _Hobbes_ , and _Gamow_ were all hit in short order. "This is Connor, all ships give me a damage report right now!" Sebastian barked, watching in silent horror at how quickly the battle had turned. The _Calvin_ had already sustained damage from earlier, but now its beam cannons and the linear catapult had been almost totaled. The _Hobbes's_ entire engine bank had been slagged into nothing, and the Gamow's missile battery and forward railguns had been reduced to a molten pile of junk.

"Damage is severe, Commander." Zelman rasped, as he waved smoke out of his face.

"Same here, boss." Maria reported. "I hate to say this, but I think we might want to consider throwing in the towel on this one."

"Dearka!" Nicol called out. So lost in mourning his best friend's demise, he had forgotten that Kuro was still present, and not about to pass up on an opportunity. The Gravesend's sword smashed against the Buster, the Phase-Shift being the only thing defending him from the onslaught. Dearka raised his rifle to try and shoot his foe, but Kuro wouldn't have it, the blade came down, hacking off the front end of the gun launcher, rendering it useless. The master alarm started blaring, and Dearka's eyes widened in horror at the message he hoped never to see…PHASE SHIFT DOWN. The Buster's battery had finally run out and was dead in the water.

"Crap, this is how it ends for me?" Dearka could now official prove that a person's life really did flash before their eyes when death was imminent. "This is so unfair! I haven't even had a girlfriend yet!"

"Don't take it personally, Elsman." Kuro intoned, raising his sword to finish the Buster, "We all have our off days." Dearka sighed ready to accept his fate. Only for a barrage of emerald lances caught the Gravesend in the back. A grenade spiraled in, causing the demonic looking Gundam to spiral away. "What in the hell?" Kuro looked around trying to find the source of the attack. He then saw where it came from and he couldn't believe his eyes. "No way!"

There was the GAT-X102 Duel Gundam, beam rifle raised and locked on the Gravesend. Yzak winced as the smoke dissipated in his cockpit. "Damn it…" He rasped, quickly checking the damage monitor. The Duel's left arm had been severed completely, not to mention the right shoulder armor had melted off into a twisted mess, and to cap it all off half of the Gundam's face was gone. He had been very lucky, the shield had taken the brunt of the attack, and he quickly ejected the arm along with the shield, but his mobile suit was still in very bad shape.

Sebastian's CGUE soon floated up to him, followed by Gabrielle and Shawn's GINNs.

"Sorry, Commander Connor, you don't have to say anything. I screwed up." He rasped.

"I'll spare you the dressing down until we get out of here. Lieutenant DeMarchais, take the Duel back to the ship and get him some medical attention." The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due survey the battlefield. The Gravesend, Gunshot Rebake, Firestorm, and the two GINNs stood triumphantly, while the _Kagutsuchi_ floated up behind them, weapons aimed on them. The message was clear, ZAFT had underestimated their opponents and now paid the price. If they wanted to continue, they could go right ahead. Tatsuo and his people would keep piling the bodies at the front door. The question is how long would Sebastian want to keep going.

"What do you want to do, Commander Connor?" Dearka asked. "We're not making any headway here."

Sebastian weighed his options. All three ships had been badly damaged by the surprise attack and the mobile suits had sustained heavy casualties. He let out a frustrated sigh, but he had to admit facts that this was a battle they couldn't continue any longer. He silently cursed the next words he spoke. "This is Storm Wolf Actual to all units, prepare to withdraw. We've lost this one today. I will take full responsibility for this." The GINNs and G-weapons began retreating to their carriers, and the ZAFT forces left the area.

Tatsuo just smirked, while the others cheered. They had gone up against a superior force and managed to come out on top. It was then they saw an explosion erupt from the main hangar bay. "What in the hell is that?" Yukira asked.

The older man just chortled. "Our associates just having a good time, Yukira. We've done all we can here. Let's make for Ame-no-Mihashara. I think we've all earned the R&R."

(Artemis, Harbor)

Even though ZAFT had retreated, the battle still hadn't ended. At the same time in the main harbor, where had once been the Artemis Defense Fleet smoldered. Canard watched with satisfaction at the smoking remains of the command bridge. It had taken him almost six years but he could finally put that aspect of his life behind him. It was then he saw Unit—02 show up. "Oh it's you." He remarked.

"Hey bro! I see you've been having some fun." Keijiro looked absolutely giddy as he took in his handiwork. "Oh, I'm loving this man! I may not think highly of the Eurasians, but they can come up with some nice toys! So did you take care of your little issue?"

Canard just grunted. He really didn't need to share his past with a complete stranger, much less someone as annoying as Keijiro. His sensors began screaming to life, as a pair of new contacts appeared on screen. He watched impassively as the IFF transponders came up as "HG—03" and "HG-04". "Hmph, I'll give Zamboise and Andrendo credit. They move fast when they have to." Canard remarked. He looked over to the second Hyperion. While he was confident of his own skills, he knew the pilots of the other two machines, and what they were capable of. "Hey, Mishima was it? We're about to have some company. I hate to break it to you, but there was actually a fourth Hyperion built, but it was kept separate from the others, just in case something like this happened. I know the pilots, and they're both real cutthroats."

Keijiro just chuckled menacingly. "I just have one thing to say…bring it on motherfuckers!" It didn't take long for the two mobile suits to appear, resembling its sister units. Unit 3 had the exact same color scheme as Unit 2, but minus the stars on the left shoulder. Unit 4 was a stark gray color with a black torso and green trim along its arms and legs. A voice with a very heavy Russian accent began speaking. "Pars, you traitor. I should have known you would have turned on us eventually! And now you have killed Admiral Garcia in cold blood? This is the last straw! Ivan and I will make sure you have paid for what you have done."

"Agreed." the pilot of Unit 4, now identified as Ivan, also spoke with an even thicker Russian accent. "As Lieutenant Andrendo has said. You have gone too far. For your crimes against the Eurasian Federation, we will break you!"

"Wait a minute, just wait a minute!" Keijiro cut in. "Just let me stop you right there. You just said 'I must break you', and your name is Ivan? Wow, too bad your last name isn't Drago. Tell me do you resemble Dolph Lundgren at all? Because that would have sealed the deal for me. Not that I didn't enjoy Rocky IV at all, it's a classic to be sure, but I'll just be honest with you, big guy. All you're doing is perpetuating the stereotype of every evil Russian guy in fiction. It's just so cliche, bro! You gotta mix it up a little bit! Show some variety!" There was dead silence for all but a few seconds. A pair of beam rifles came up, and Keijiro and Canard were quick to draw their own weapons. "Oh well…can't say I didn't try!" With that the Eurasian Gundams opened fire on each other.

"You take generic Russian goon one. I'll take Ivan!" Keijiro cackled. Canard just gave a simple grunt, before going after Unit 4. Keijiro zoned in on Unit 4. "Okay, Ivan. I'll show you what I can do!" He opened fire on the sister machine, but the arm mounted emitter folded open, emitting a glowing light green lightwave barrier, the emerald beams splashed off harmlessly, but Keijiro wouldn't be denied so quickly. The beam cannons folded over Unit 2's shoulders, the blue and red beams lanced out, but unlike earlier, Unit 4's full lightwave barrier flared to life, tanking Keijiro's attack completely.

"Heh, I suppose it wouldn't be that easy." Keijiro stowed his beam rifle, pulling out the RBW Type 7001 Rometeknica Beam Knives from their resting places in the legs, expertly twirling them in his machine's metallic hands. "Time to get stabby then I suppose!" Unit 2's thrusters flared to life and Keijiro rushed in, his opponent's arm came up to deploy the shield, but a kick to the head, and a quick down ward thrust to the wrist rendered the emitter a smoking mess. "Ha, don't think I'll make it easy for you either!" He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, seeing that Ivan had drawn one of his own beam knives and was aiming to back stab him, hitting the battery and ending the fight right there.

Keijiro was faster, whipping his right hand blade around, the glowing beam edges sparking from where the two weapons made contact with each other. "They're not beam sabers by stretch, but I was always more comfortable with this anyway!" He let out a feral sneer as his left blade plunged into Unit 4's right thigh. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" He was rewarded with the glorious sound of angry Russian cursing. "Hoo, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He continued his taunts.

Canard, meanwhile, handled Unit 3 with a detached, clinical manner. He knew the other two Hyperion pilots all too well and had little need for either of them. He ignored Balasm's angry words, deploying his arm mounted shield to deflect Unit-3's beam round, before firing back with his own. He drew the knife from his right arm, and hurled it at Unit 3, who made to raise the shield, but then Canard ramped the thrusters at full throttle, closing the distance. He drew two more of his knives, plunging one into the barrier emitter on the Gundam's right wrist, and then he went for the kill with the other, driving it straight through the cockpit. "I'm no one's tool anymore." He said, letting the mobile suit drift into the void of space.

In a distant part of his mind, Keijiro knew he was enjoying himself way too much, but there was nothing wrong with letting out the inner blood knight every once in a while. He had his beam rifle in one hand and a knife in the other, and having a total blast. "It probably goes without saying, but I love my new toy!" He gushed from the cockpit of the Hyperion, smacking back Ivan's knife strike while he slashed across Unit 4's shoulder. "Eurasian tech may not be as sophisticated as what Orb and the Atlantic Federation is capable of, but it's solid and built like a rock! I'm having so much fun with this!" Ivan squeezed off a few rounds, managing to hit Unit 2 in the leg. He sighed dramatically. "But I suppose all good things must come to an end."

The stoner raised his rifle, squeezing off a few rounds, catching Unit 3 in the wings that contained the beam cannon. He slipped around the back, and took the knife mounted on the beam rifle as a bayonet, getting it right in the back. "We'll always have Artemis." Keijiro quipped, squeezing the trigger once, twice, thrice. the CAT-X4/3 Hyperion Gundam Unit 4 exploded, taking Ivan Andrendo with it. He saw Unit 1 still standing in one place. "Hey C-man! Are you admiring the view?"

"Whatever." Canard rolled his eyes.

Keijiro saw the _Archangel_ , Strike, and Masamune come around the corner. "Well, it looks like my ride is here, C. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"I'll pass." Canard grunted. "I helped you and your friends escape Garcia and his goons. Far as I'm concerned, my debt to you is paid. I've got places to go and things to do." The former Eurasian pilot said. Unit 1 spun on its axis and took off in the opposite direction, wanting to put as much distance between Artemis…and Keijiro as possible.

Keijiro advanced towards the _Archangel_. "Hey guys! What do you think of my new toy?" He showed it off. "I think I can make good use of this baby!"

"You can save us the details for later. Let's just get out of here." Yukimasa said. The Strike, Masamune, and Unit 2 all entered the hangar as the majestic mobile assault ship fired its engines and left the shattered hulk that was once Artemis station behind.


	6. In Memoriam

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Fated Shift: Rearmed

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

In Memoriam

(January 30th, C.E. 71, EAS Archangel, Open Space)

It had been three days since the madness at Artemis. Everyone was glad to be away from the Eurasian outpost, now little more than a shattered wreck thanks to a little help from ZAFT. Murrue slumped in the captain's chair. She had never been prepared for something like this. She had been just a simple technician, and never really had ambitions for command, but now here she was, at the helm of the Earth Alliance's most advanced warship. The Strike and Masamune the one last faint hope her people had for surviving this war. "Someone let me off this ride." She muttered, clutching her face in her hand.

Luckily, Sharon was ready with much-needed support in the form of warm coffee, the steam visibly rising up. The warm scent was very inviting. The pinkette smiled as she passed the mug to her old friend. "Everyone knows that starships aren't fueled by processed deuterium, they're actually fueled by caffeine. Proven scientific fact." The pinkette's sing-song tone helped brighten Murrue's attitude a little. Sharon had always been a ray of sunshine even in the darkest times.

"At least we got ZAFT off our tails for a while," Natarle remarked. Even though she knew better than anyone that eventually Le Creuset Team would resume their dogged pursuit of them, even if it meant chasing them all the way to Alaska itself. In the meantime, any respite they had would be welcome. The black-haired executive officer's face was the picture of calm professionalism. Although her mind was anything but, wracked by a thousand questions at once, worrying about their supply situation, especially a growing lack of fresh water. She hadn't brought it up to the other officers but figured Murrue was well aware of it.

"Well, I doubt the Eurasians are going to think very highly of us. Considering we did trash one of their bases and made off with one of their experimental prototype mobile suits." Mu said from his place near the back of the bridge where Sharon and Chandra sat the communications and ECM control stations respectively.

"Captain, we just got something on the laser sensor!" Chandra said. "Unidentified vessel, it's coming up from behind us!"

"All hands to Level One Battle stations! Have the mobile suits and Moebius Zero ready for take off." Murrue barked, immediately slipping into command mode. After what happened both at Heliopolis and Artemis, she was more than a little edgy. Mu was just about to depart the bridge when Sharon brought everything to a halt.

"Just hold off on that, Murrue!" The pinkette exclaimed, holding up a hand to indicate quiet. "The other ship is hailing us, The commander of the ONS Kagutsuchi, a Captain Tetsuo Mishima, is saying they are not hostile to us and wish to provide an escort for us back to Earth. Apparently, they're friends of Colonel Sahaku, and they were the ones who helped us to escape Artemis." The officers let this sink in for a few seconds. In the rush to escape from the Eurasians. They hadn't really thought of who had given them the time to evacuate. So it was only right they thank their new allies for the aid.

"Tell them thank you for helping back at Artemis. And they are welcome to come up alongside the ship, Lieutenant Heim." Murrue said. "It's only right that we pay back the debt we owe these people."

Sharon took a few minutes. "Captain Mishima said he would like to come aboard, along with a few others."

"Tell him, permission granted," Murrue said.

(Hangar)

Yui was floating in the middle of the hangar, clad in a maintenance jumpsuit. Yukimasa, Keijiro, and Petty Officer First Class Kojiro Murdoch, head of the Archangel's maintenance staff, were by her side as the rest of the technicians stood in a semi-circle around them. "Okay, we're going to divide up the labor into four teams. Team One will be responsible for the Mobius Zero, headed by Petty Officer Murdoch, I will head up Team Two, and oversee repairs on the Strike. Team Three will take care of the Masamune, and Yukimasa will oversee that, and the Hyperion will be maintained by Kejiro and Team Four." She swept her head around elegantly. "Does anyone have any questions?"

"Just finally glad to see you pulling your weight around here, Yui-chan. Tell me do you have to spend all your time running maintenance on Kira so you weren't able to focus on the mobile suits?" Keijiro drawled, eliciting muffled chuckles and snorts from a few of the men, and a venomous glare from Yui. He held up a placating hand. "Oh, come on! What's a little ribbing between friends?"

"You are no friend of mine, Keijiro Mishima." Her brilliant purple eyes reflecting the harsh glare of the overhead lights. "And your precious machine won't get maintained at all with an attitude like that. After all, I know you would probably have a heart attack if the paint even got chipped." Her smile looked pleasant, but Yukimasa and the others knew that it was the absolute opposite. "Just imagine it rusting, one second after another. No special wax to preserve its luster. It would be such a horrible, terrible crime."

Keijiro's mouth opened to let out a bloodcurdling scream of absolute terror, "Stop! Stop right now! Don't say that about my precious baby!" He then took off for the Hyperion. Praying there was nothing wrong with it. Everyone started laughing at Keijiro's absolute obsession when it came to appearances, as he clung onto the leg of the stolen Eurasian Gundam. "Don't worry, sweetheart, nothing is going to happen to you. I will make sure of that." He thought he was whispering, but everyone could plainly hear him.

Yui clapped her hands together, bringing everyone's attention back. "Okay, everyone! We've had enough theatrics for one day! These machines aren't going to fix themselves. You know your jobs, let's get to work!" The technicians split up into the four teams. Yukimasa then floated up to her, a wide grin on his face. "Something I can help you with?" She asked.

"I have to give you props, Yui. You managed to hit the big idiot in the one place that hurts him more than anyone else." He grinned. "I'll admit it's kind of nice seeing him taken down a few pegs. Feel free to do so anytime he gets to be out of hand. Just let me know, that way I can be there and get my fill of cheap laughs."

"Someone has to keep him in line." Yui ran a hand through her hair. "Although Keijiro isn't completely wrong. I do need to step up now. As much as I love Kira, there is my duty to take into account." Her shoulders hunched up a little. "I guess I'm going to have to tell him the truth, eventually. I'm just afraid of how he's going to react once he learns." She trailed off with those words. Yukimasa reached up to gently pat her on the arm.

"You don't have anything to worry about in that regard, Yui. I've been around Kira long enough that I got a pretty good read on him. He's got a big heart, and it's clear that he is really relying on you for support in this very difficult time. While I think he'd be upset you didn't tell him the whole truth about why you were at Heliopolis. He doesn't strike me as being the petty type. He won't hold it against you for very long. You're way too important to him, Yui." This served to placate her some, and she smiled, her face turning a delicate shade of red. She didn't blush often, but it was a cute sight regardless.

It was then the alarms started going off, getting everyone's attention fast. It was then the interior hangar doors opened, and what everyone recognized as a standard space launch entered, setting down in front of the Hyperion. The hatch opened, admitting Tatsuo, followed in close course by Cagalli, Mori, Kuro, and finally Alissa. Yukimasa was equal parts relieved and distressed to see all of them on board. He floated down to the floor, coming to a perfect two-point landing in front of them. Tatsuo just snorted and began clapping sardonically.

"Not bad, Kid. I'll give you an extra point for form on the landing, but if only because I like you so much." The older man's face softened just a little. Despite being known as a Grade A hardass, he wasn't afraid to show his softer side around those he was closest too. "That being said. I'm glad to see you made it out of there alive. When I saw the end result of ZAFT's assault. I thought something bad had actually happened to you for just a fraction of a second."

"Oh come now, Tatsuo. You should know better than anyone, Sahakus aren't killed so easily." Mori smirked, holding his fist out. "Hello there, little brother. I will say that it's been far too long since I've seen your face. I know Kuroto feels the same." Kuro rolled his eyes at the use of his full name. But he, in turn, held his own fist out, and finally, Yukimasa joined the circle, all three Sahaku brothers sharing a brotherly fist bump.

"I'll say I'm very relieved that you picked them up, Tatsuo." Yukimasa had wondered what happened to the survivors after the colony collapse, but with the battles against Athrun and the other redcoats, not to mention the madness at Artemis. He had to prioritize his own, as well as Flay's, safety. What happened to Kuro and Cagalli had fallen to the wayside. "Not to mention we owe you for bailing us out against the Eurasians," Yukimasa said, turning to address his older brother. "And it's always good to see you, Mori. Life gets kind of bland without your unique way of viewing the world." Mori just smirked, running a hand through his hair. "So what brings you over to our little piece of space, Tatsuo?"

"I want to speak to the ship's captain. I got orders from the higher-ups, my job is seeing to it you guys get to Earth in one piece. We need to start hashing out some kind of plan for the immediate future." Tatsuo said. "If you can point us in the direction of the bridge. We would greatly appreciate it."

"Go through that door, turn right, first door on the left, it will take you straight there," Yukimasa said. Tatsuo just gave a curt nod, before he departed the hangar, Mori on his heels, while Kuro and Alissa remained behind. He then turned to the amber-eyed blonde, currently wearing a furious glare at him. "Don't think I've forgotten about you." He quipped while putting on a cheery grin. "Hello there, Cagalli. You're looking very expressive right now. Give it a couple more years and you will be the proud owner of the best death glare in Orb."

"Oh come off it! You actually played a part in the development of these things?" She indicated to the Strike, her voice dripping in disgust. "I can't believe it's actually come to this! We really have just decided to take everything our country stands for and blow it out into space! Orb may as well be part of the Earth Alliance now with this."

Yukimasa just rolled his eyes and let out a groan, bringing her rant to a halt. "You really want to have this argument right now, Cags? Contrary to what you might think. Not everyone believes in the pacifistic drivel your great-grandfather thought up sixty years ago!" He and Cagalli had known each other for years. Despite the rivalry between their respective families, he had tried to keep things civil, but he didn't have the time or patience to deal with her whining. "I know Lord Hashirama believed neutrality was the way to keep our country safe, but if we don't maintain at least some level of military strength, then we really will get taken over. The Atlantic Federation has the means, Dad took advantage of it, enough said, end of story!"

Cagalli just let out a derisive snort, folding her arms. "Oh and so we come to the foundation of the problem. Your whole family has always been warhawks, going all the way back to Danzo Shimura Sahaku himself!" The rivalry between the Athhas and Sahakus was no secret to anyone from the island nation. Cagalli's great-grandfather, Hashirama Senju Attha, and Danzo Shimura Sahaku had been bitter rivals with polar opposite views on how to run the country and had hated each other for it. That animosity had carried down through the following generations. "Yukimura Koto Sahaku is only interested in getting himself to the Chief Representative's Office! He and my father have never liked each other and is just waiting to get him kicked out of his position! I hope he burns in hell for all of eternity!"

"Will you shut up already!" Kuro yelled suddenly, stopping Cagalli's rant suddenly. His obsidian eyes burning with a cold fury "Cagalli, I put up with a lot from you. I consider you a friend, and I take my job as your bodyguard very seriously. I always have, and I always will." His voice was even and measured. "I don't agree with a lot of your father's beliefs, but I kept my mouth shut because I'm a professional. However, even professionals have their limits. And you…just crossed mine!" It wasn't often Kuro raised his voice, but when he did, everyone listened. "I'll say this as plainly as I can, Cagalli. You better listen good, because I will not repeat myself. Some of us actually had to make sacrifices to help our country! I had to kill people, and I really hated doing it too. But I did it to protect Orb's interests, and moreover, to protect you! I say fuck our ideals if we can't protect ourselves. So come out of your ivory tower and Grow! Up!"

A few tears formed in Cagalli's eyes. "You are such an asshole!" She sniffled, before leaving the hangar in a hurry. Alissa said nothing, just following after the blonde princess.

Kuro blinked a couple of times. It then occurred to him just what he had done. "Oh, I probably crossed a line there, didn't I?" He said almost nonchalantly. To which Yukimasa just nodded. The younger Sahaku brother just sighed. "What can I say? I don't like it when people talk shit about Dad. Even if it is Cagalli."

"A lot of people hate Dad. I'm not particularly fond of him either." Yukimasa replied, he had always been closer to his mother, Hitomi. "If it's all the same, Kuro. I really have to get to work on getting this mobile suit tuned up. Just let Cagalli have some space for right now, let her cool off. Once that's happened you can work on getting back into her good graces." Kuro just shrugged, giving a wave with his index and middle fingers, Yukimasa responded in kind, letting his younger brother leave the hangar while he went back to work on the Masamune.

Kejiro got the last word in. "Wow, that was riveting and extremely dramatically charged. Oh well, back to waxing my baby girl!" He began whistling a jaunty tune. Before Murrue's voice rang out over the PA system, ordering Yukimasa to report to the bridge. The young Sahaku sighed, going to change into a fresh uniform since he didn't want to show up with grease all over him. He came out of the shower feeling like a new man.

It was there he saw Flay, standing at one of the viewports, looking out at the Kagutsuchi as it came up on the Archangel's port side. Seeing a chance, he quietly snuck up behind her, grabbing the redhead around the waist, eliciting a startled gasp from her. "Hey honey, you miss me?" He grinned widely, silently noting how cute she looked with that angry pout, before planting a kiss on her pale cheek. "Aw, come on, don't be too mad at me. I must have some fun with you. It says so in my contract."

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Flay said, slapping him lightly on the arm, before giving him a kiss of her own, but aimed right on the lips. "I heard you get called to the bridge. Do you want me to come along with you?" She slid her arm into his as she spoke this. The intention clear for anyone to see. The two made their way to the nearest elevator and went up to the bridge.

(Bridge)

Murrue took in Tatsuo and Mori as they stood before the main viewport. She hadn't been expecting the Atlantic Federation Naval Special Forces to suddenly come riding to the rescue, but these two gentlemen weren't her first choice of backup, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Deciding to keep her opinions of their appearance to herself. Murrue stepped forward, holding her hand out. "Let me be the first to say thank you for coming to our aid at Artemis." Tatsuo gently took hold of it, offering an amazingly delicate kiss on her hand.

"Not a problem at all, my dear. I'm certain it was better than remaining in the pleasant company of Gerard Garcia any longer than you already had been." Tatsuo pulled out a cigarillo and his lighter. He was just about to touch the burning flame to the tip, only for Natarle to rip out between his lips, a furious glare in her purple eyes as she took the tobacco stick, giving it a look of extreme disgust before crushing it in her fingers. "Wow, you're a difficult person to understand, Ensign. You have a problem with smokers?" He asked.

"This is a non-smoking ship." Was all she said. Only for Mori to come up to her. Natarle took a step back, but the elder Sahaku sibling just flashed a rather debonair grin at her.

"Glad to see you're so health-conscious, Ensign Badgiurel I've been getting on Captain Mishima about that terrible habit of his for years." He took hold of Natarle's hand and kissed it. Murrue and Mu both snickered, thinking Mori just needed a rose in-between his teeth to complete the image. "However, I may feel about the Earth Forces personally, I will say they have no problem turning out gorgeous and competent women in their command ranks. This ship is in good hands."

"Aw, it looks like you have an admirer, Nattie!" Sharon cooed from her station, enjoying seeing the straitlaced Ensign so uncomfortable. "I have to say you really know how to pick them! He is nobility after all."

"Why thank you for that statement, Lieutenant Heim. The good Ensign would be more than welcome in our family."

It was then Yukimasa and Flay came out of the elevator which was just what Natarle needed to break up this awkward moment. She gave Flay a questioning eye before quickly speaking. "Crewman Allster, would you mind telling me doing here out of uniform?" She said. This caught Yukimasa by surprise. He looked to her and she just let out a shy giggle. Natarle put her hand on her hip. "Oh, your girlfriend didn't tell you? She came to me just after we left Artemis and asked to take part in ship operations. I have no problems with that, but if she's going to be part of the crew, she needs to be in uniform."

"Is that true?" Yukimasa asked.

Flay just put her arms around his neck, giving him an adoring gaze. "Yes, it is. I didn't just want to sit in the cafeteria with the other survivors and stare at the walls. If I can help out in even the smallest way, then I'll feel like I accomplished something. I'll be rotating duty at communications with Sharon. And Ensign Badgiruel is correct. I need to change out of this and into something a bit more appropriate. I'll be right back." She winked at him and departed for her quarters. Yukimasa was left with the image of her backside before the elevator doors slammed shut.

"Glad to see you can join us," Tatsuo remarked, shaking him out of his reverie. "Now if we can finally get down to business. We of Mishima Security Consulting, has been charged by the governments of both the Atlantic Federation, and the United Emirates of Orb, more the second one actually, to escort this vessel, the EAS Archangel, back to Earth in order to protect it and its accompanying mobile suits, namely the GAT-X105 Strike, considering the other G-Weapons are now in the loving hands of ZAFT." The sarcasm in his voice was clear for all to hear. "But that's neither here nor there. I'm going to entrust one of my own people to you as a liaison."

"Who is this liaison?" Natarle asked worriedly, praying it wasn't Mori. But it was then Alissa came on the bridge, followed by Kuro and Cagalli, her face still stained from her tears, but a look of firm resolve on her face.

"Here she is now!" Tatsuo smirked, as Alissa came up, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Alissa here is one of my best operatives, Captain. She'll be able to give you any guidance you need. Just don't be afraid to ask."

"I'll be remaining on board as well," Cagalli spoke up, looking ever the model politician. She marched up to Murrue, looking her dead in the eye, Kuro just behind and to the right of her. "Captain Ramius, I am Cagalli Yula Attha, representing the Orb government. Given that this vessel is a joint effort between our respective nations, I feel it's necessary for someone to be aboard to protect our investment as it were." She looked back to Kuro as she said it. "So I'll be in it for the long haul."

"Which means I'll be coming on board as well." Kuro snapped to attention, offering his best salute. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Kuroto Takeshi Sahaku, serving as Lady Attha's bodyguard. Where she goes, I go. As such, you'll also have my own personal machine, the Gravesend, transferred aboard. I assure you it's suitably lethal Captain Ramius and should be able to handle anything ZAFT throws at us."

"That puts me quite at ease then." Murrue began feeling like she could trust Tatsuo, but only so much. She would play it by ear for now. "So, I suppose we should plan out our next move then. We need to get to Joint Supreme Headquarters - Alaska so we can deliver the Archangel, the Strike, and all of the relevant data to our superiors. We've put so much time and effort into the G-Project, if we're going to have any chance to win this war, the data we've gained can start putting us on the path to mass-producing our own mobile suits. Any and all aid you can provide is greatly appreciated, Captain Mishima."

"The first thing we need to address is our serious lack of supplies," Natarle said. "We only managed to load up the barest of essentials before Heliopolis was destroyed. And the less we speak of our recent trip to Artemis the better. Our food stores will last us only for another couple of weeks, and drinking water is even more so. There's no way it will be able to last a trip all the way to Earth. We need to find a way to resupply and fast!"

Tatsuo snorted. "Oh we know exactly how to get what you need, Ensign, so put a cork in your worries. Although, given how you're clearly a spit and polish type, it may not go over well with you. The Debris Belt, it has more than enough food and water to get you where you need to go." He sneered slightly. "The question is do you have the stomach to do a little grave robbing?"

Natarle looked ready to protest, but at the same time, she couldn't ignore the older man's logic, especially since she had just said how grave the situation was. There was no time to go through official channels, and the Atlantic Federation Quartermaster wasn't exactly anywhere nearby. Murrue rested her chin in her hand, delicately manicured fingers tapping her cheek. She was clearly weighing the options herself. But unlike her executive officer, she wasn't so rigid in her thinking. "Very well then Captain. Since you know the way, I'll defer to you. We'll do what needs to be done, within reason."

Tatsuo gave a nod of approval. "Good, glad to see you're not completely uptight. The Debris Belt is about a week and a half's voyage from here. We can work out the specifics on the way there."

(Debris Belt, February 13th, C.E. 71)

With a rare dose of luck, the Archangel and Kagutsuchi managed to make it to the field of assorted junk that had come to be known as the Debris Belt, marking the midpoint between the Lagrange Points and Earth itself. Tatsuo was on the bridge of the white vessel, having another conference with Murrue and the other senior officers. "Welcome to flavor country, boys and girls. A century's worth of space junk is lying here in front of us, and everything we need to keep ourselves alive is just waiting to be snatched. All we need to do is pick a place to start."

"Freshwater, no disputing that," Murrue said almost at once, looking back to Natarle who just nodded in approval. "We need food as well. There should be plenty of canned goods out there. None of that should have gone bad, especially if they've been sitting in a hard vacuum."

"Non-perishable items are a top priority food wise, as is anything frozen." Alissa ran her fingers along the tablet she was working on, drawing up the list for the most bizarre shopping trip anyone of them had ever gone on. "Water shouldn't be a problem either, it's all going to be ice but a couple of good-sized chunks will refill our water stores long enough to get planetside."

"We should also see about salvaging any nearby ships for extra fuel, ammunition, and spare parts." Mu offered. "Granted, I'm not sure how much would be compatible with our current systems, though."

Keijiro just laughed, leaning up against the wall. He was completely relaxed. "Relax, Lieutenant, you forget the guys who helped design this ship are onboard." He gave the bulkhead a loving pat. "And while our dear little Angel here is top of the line, we also designed it to be compatible with all standard Earth Alliance components. You just leave that part of the shopping list to me, and we'll have no problems at all."

"For once, I'm in agreement with stoner boy," Yukimasa commented, ignoring the pout Keijiro threw at him. "Even though we were building this ship from the ground up, we didn't want to there to be any technical problems if they arose. You find us the components, we'll fix it, Captain."

"Given how shorthanded we are, we'll have to rely on the student volunteers for assistance." Sharon twirled one of her thick, cotton candy locks. "They can help us find all the supplies we'll need."

"We'll divide up the labor into three teams," Tatsuo said. Murrue had deferred to the older captain due to his greater experience in situations like this. "Team One will be headed up by Lieutenant Pink Hair and scavenge any Earth Alliance vessels we find. Team Two will be led by Ensign Stick in the Mud doing the same for any ZAFT vessels that pop up." Sharon looked amused by her new nickname and Natarle just glared at him. "Alissa's in charge of Team Three, and she'll find the food and water we need."

"Is that what I think it is?" Murrue asked, giving a silent prayer.

"I can't believe it made it all the out here," Sharon whispered.

"It is indeed." Tatsuo sounded remarkably subdued. As the eyes of everyone on the bridge felt on a giant plate, it almost seemed like someone had taken a near perfect circular portion of the Earth itself and lifted it into the middle of space. "It's Junius Seven." His trademark smirk began returning. "I hate to say this, but I think our biggest problem may have just been solved with this. J7 holds all the water we could possibly need and then some."

The Earth Alliance officers looked at him with stark disbelief. "You can't be for real." Natarle protested. The anger rising in her voice. Even if they couldn't strictly follow the book, in this case, this was going too far in her eyes and she wasn't afraid to let everyone know. "I had no problem with taking from the wreckage of any ships we found, but that? It represents the greatest tragedy in human history! It's grave robbing!"

She was stopped mid-rant by Murrue holding her hand out. "We're only taking what we need from there, right. Captain Mishima?" She asked. "We aren't going to be disturbing any bodies, right?"

"Of course, Captain Ramius. Even I have standards." Tatsuo took out another cigarillo, putting it in his mouth, but not lighting it. "Even still, what I'm saying still stands. Most of our food and water needs could be easily solved by taking from the colony's remains. We'll be able to replenish both ships' stocks quite easy from the various stores and markets, and the water can be taken from the towers on the buildings. And once we're done, we'll even pay our respects to the fallen. Does that placate you, Ensign?" The black-haired officer just huffed as she folded her arms. The look on her face showing she was going on with this only reluctantly.

"We'll round up the kids and get started. The sooner we get this done, the better." Mu said, leaving the bridge.

(An Hour Later)

It was a strange collection of craft that disgorged from both the Archangel. The Zero, the Strike, the Masamune, and Hyperion were in a diamond formation around the Mistral worker pods, crewed by Natarle, Sharon, and the other students. They slowly descended toward the remains of Junius Seven. Everyone was subdued about this, Kira, like Natarle, had been vehemently against it, only for Yui to calm him down, reminding him of what was at stake for everyone. It was such that she was even riding in the Strike's cockpit with him, wearing a pink version of the EA flight suit. Kira was sneaking glances at her every few seconds, he couldn't deny she looked good in it, although he thought blue or gold was more her color.

Flay likewise was in the Masamune's cockpit wearing her own flight suit. "I have to say, I'm still not a fan of the colors, but if anyone can make blazing hot pink work, it's you, dear." He was rewarded by her dazzling smile.

"Aw, you know how to flatter me." She cooed, desiring nothing more than to crawl in his lap, but she reasoned it would probably hinder his ability to fly. This was too dire a situation to be making out. Besides who says they couldn't do that later? The teams split up to pursue their respective tasks, with Yukimasa flying with Alissa's team. They set down in the middle of the desolate street.

Yukimasa was the first to disembark, touching the ground first. He held a hand to help Flay steady herself, instinctively putting an arm around her waist as she settled on the ground. The two shared a loving gaze, only for Alissa to break up the romantic moment. "You two can be lovey-dovey on your own time. Don't forget why we're here!" Kuzzey just stood there in the background, wisely keeping his mouth shut.

The first place they stopped was a grocery store. Alissa and Yukimasa strained to open the doors. They walked in, shinning their flashlights over the place. "Remember, put a focus on frozen or canned food. Once we've loaded the Mistral up, we'll focus on collecting water from any towers in the area."

"How about grabbing some bottled water as well?" Flay indicated to the cases of water bottles on the wall. "That way we'll be guaranteed to always have fresh drinking water and we can use the water from the towers for other things, like bathing and what not," Flay remembered how all the girls had to take a sponge bath from a small tub of water Murrue had provided. It had not been fun, and she didn't want to go throw it again.

Alissa smirked. "You're smarter than you look, Red. I hadn't factored that aspect in. Okay, kids, let's grab a few dozen cases of water as well. That should make our respective bosses happy." Yukimasa and Kuzzey begin lugging the very heavy packages to the worker pod while the girls would scour the aisles for anything edible. They were making another round when a loud scream rang out.

"That's Flay!" Yukimasa yelled, taking off down one of the aisles. Kuzzey on his feet, whining about not being so fast. They stopped in their tracks when they found Flay on the ground, the canned food she had been carrying scattered all over the place or flipping end over end in the low gravity. Yukimasa felt his stomach twist into a knot, and he was certain Kuzzey was going to throw up, leaving a very nasty mess in his spacesuit.

In front of them was a pair of dead bodies floating. A young girl not more than six years old and her mother, their faces contorted in expressions of muted horror at their imminent demise. Yukimasa floated over to Flay helping her up to her feet. "We about to go to the frozen foods section. They just kind of appeared out of the shadows." The redhead clung onto him, her voice shaking, eyes focused on the dead child.

Alissa slowly approached the two corpses, closing their eyes to give them a sense of peace. Yukimasa said nothing, still holding onto Flay, tears forming in her bluish-gray eyes. "What kind of monsters do this, Masa?" The redhead struggled to hold her tears back, but it was a losing battle. "She's just a little girl. Her whole life was ahead of her and now…" The dam finally broke and Flay started crying. Yukimasa gently rubbed her back. "It's not fair!"

Inwardly Yukimasa said a silent prayer. 'Thank Haumea Keijiro isn't here, he'd say something about how dead children would mean more ice cream for him!' He went back to tending to Flay. He wished nothing more to wipe her tears away, but the helmets made that impossible now. "It's different when you put a face to the problem, isn't it?" He gestured to the bodies. "I know you've never thought highly of Coordinators, but you're not seeing these people as Coordinators now. You're seeing them as human beings who were brutally murdered for just being a little bit different."

"It's a bitter pill to swallow, Miss Allster." Alissa cut in. "But much needed medicine regardless. I hope you take the lesson you've learned here today to heart. But in the meantime, we need to get these supplies back to the Archangel and Kagutsuchi. We'll look for some water towers on the way back, so let's get in the air." It wasn't long before the Masamune and the two Mistrals were airborne, each of them carrying a large chunk of ice taken from a water tower atop an office building. It would be enough to get both ships all the way to Earth.

"This is a good haul, Alissa. Tatsuo and Murrue will both be quite pleased." Yukimasa said. He looked over to Flay, who had removed her helmet to try and wipe the tears away. She wasn't worried about her makeup running, it could always be fixed.

"And I have a proposition for the good Captain. Perhaps we can hold a memorial service for the fallen. I think it will be good for everyone." It seemed to be just what Flay needed to hear as she smiled at him before putting her helmet back on.

(February 14th, C.E. 71)

Members of both crews now stood upon the upper deck of the Archangel, Yui, Flay, and Miriallia all held bunches of paper flowers in their arms, having been made by the civilians during the mission to the colony. The Strike, Hyperion, and Masamune all stood behind them. Murure stood out front. "We are gathered here today to pay our respects to those who died one year ago today, February 14th, C.E. 70. In the hopes tragedies such as these never occur again, we give this simple offering, in the hope of peaceful understand and co-existence."

A single nod from Murrue and the girls let the flowers go, scattering across the void.

"Fire!" Natarle barked. The three beam rifles came up and a salvo of emerald lances roared into the depths of the space. The moment was a stark reminder that despite that chaos and pain war brought, it didn't mean humanity had to be totally abandoned, and there was always time to give due to the dead.

(Archangel, Brig)

Keijiro sighed as he lounged back on the narrow bed. Even though he had been offered better quarters, he had decided to remain in the brig. It was where he felt most at home. He had said nothing after the memorial, instead returning straight to the brig. The wreckage of Junius Seven produced a visceral response in him. "How long are you going to stand there?" He growled, "Is it enough that I have to hear your voice in my head all the time? I have to see your ugly face again as well!"

He looked over to the wall where a tall, lanky figure leaned against the wall, his face obscured by shadow. "Now come on, Kei. That's no way to speak to your big brother. I've been with you through this whole thing. You can't ignore me that easy, especially since we came here. The sight of my greatest work. We both know what happened here, there's no point in pretending nothing went down."

"Fuck off you no good bastard! As far as I'm concerned, you're dead to me!" Keijiro snapped. This just earned him a hollow laugh from the figure.

"Maybe I am dead, but I'm also still very alive. I'm alive in your head!" The figure leaned forward revealing his face, dark-skinned, and a smug grin permanently etched there. "As long as you keep thinking about me, then I'm still alive in one way or another. I must say it's quite touching really. I didn't think you still cared."

"I don't care, considering how you abandoned me!" Keijiro snapped. "I looked up to you, Koji and next thing I know you're abandoning me in Orb without even the slightest hint of an explanation why." He pulled out a rolled-up joint containing some marijuana. "It's only because of this I can even get some sleep without you appearing in one form or another."

The apparition just jeered at him. "I thought you didn't have the patience for overly long explanations. It was for your own good, Keijiro. You never considered everything I did was to better you. Including what happened to our parents. Let's face it, rotten shits beget rotten shits. Look at what's in front of you! You could take over this whole ship by yourself, seize the power of those mobile suits and make all the women your bitches! I gotta admit there are some real choice pieces of ass here. The Japanese girl, and that pinkette with those giant knockers. Of course, the Captain and XO look like they could be really fun in bed as well." He shuddered, licking his lips. "And of course, that redhead, she's the real crown jewel. It could all be yours, but you're too busy getting baked such a waste."

Keijiro began growing as Koji continued laying into him. As he coiled up, his hands clenching his head, trying anything to make it stop. "You seem to love playing second banana to that smug little brat, Sahaku! Let's face it, he looks down on you and we both know it! You're pathetic! You'll always be pathetic!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Keijiro roared, having finally had enough. He sprung off the bed, ready to tear his "brother" into pieces. But only to find Yukimasa there, holding what appeared to be a carton of ice cream in his hands. "M-masa." He rasped, ashamed of suddenly appearing like a crazy man.

Yukimasa recoiled, a look of shock on his face that was suddenly replaced with an annoyed glare. "Dude, I know dead kids can be upsetting. I didn't expect you to react like this. Being you know…you. I brought you something from the grocery store." He held the carton and a spoon out, his expression softened into a smile. "It's even Cherry Garcia, your favorite."

He couldn't even look Yukimasa in the eye as he snatched both away. "Thanks." He said, remarkably subdued, sitting down on the bed with the ice cream, digging out a large hunk before downing it in two bites. Keijiro spooned up some more, eating it with greater speed.

Yukimasa just leaned up against the wall. "Let me guess…you saw Koji again, didn't you? Don't bother trying to deny it, Kei. I know you way better than that."

"And so what if I did?" Keijiro snapped, it would have been a lot more effective if his mouth wasn't sticky with ice cream. "He's dead after all. He died at J7 fighting for the Earth Forces. It's no big loss as far as I'm concerned. Shit just begets more shit. Not like anyone shed tears when he died."

"Look, man, I'm here for you if you need it. Any time you want to talk about it, I'm there. I know you hate being 'unzipped', as you put it, Keijiro. But you really need to talk to someone about it. We both know this isn't healthy. All the weed in the world can't keep that monster at bay forever."

"Oh bitch please, like you're one to talk!" Kejiro grunted, scowling at Yukimasa. "There are things you'd never reveal, like about your mom, so don't go on about it not being healthy."

Realizing this argument wasn't going anywhere. Yukimasa just stood up. "Yeah, maybe you're right. When you do decide to pull your head out of your ass. Be sure to look me up." He stretched his arms before leaving the brig. Keijiro took another bite of ice cream before curling up on the bed, tears falling down his face as he continued eating his ice cream.

(Hangar)

With food and water stores refilled, and their obligation to the fallen served. The Archangel and Kagutsuchi resumed their silent voyage through the Debris Belt. It was quiet and uneventful, and so it was Yukimasa found himself being just a little bit jumpy. He had spent countless hours in the cockpit of the Masamune, trying to unlock the secrets of the mysterious Gundam, especially the Minus System, he was wary about cracking open that particular box, but he reasoned it would come into play and he'd rather knew what it did sooner rather than later.

It was then his monitor flashed on, revealing Kira, currently out on patrol in the Strike. "Yukimasa, are you in a position to launch right now?" He asked. "I found something out here, and I thought I might need some backup."

Yukimasa sighed. "Report it into the Captain. Let me get suited up. I'll be out there in a few minutes." The screen flashed off and he went to the locker room to get changed. He got back to the hangar, powered up the Masamune and launched, joining the Strike, currently equipped with the Aile Pack, about a kilometer off the Archangel's starboard side.

"Okay, Kira, what is this all about?" Yukimasa asked. He was tired from the events of the last few days and just wanted to get some rest. Kira said nothing, just bringing his machine's thrusters to life. The two Gundams soon reached their destination, a battered civilian shuttle, large, gaping holes throughout the hull, "So, you brought me out here to see a shipwreck? Uh, I hate to break this to you, pal. But this is a fact of life out here. Space pirates roam freely around these parts. Hell, we're l lucky we haven't run into any yet. Let's just get out of here."

"How can you be so cruel?" Kira asked. What they saw at Junius Seven was still fresh in his mind. "Innocent people are dead just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Kira could ear the complacent shrug in his voice. "I'm a soldier, Kira." Yukimasa said bluntly, "there's very little that surprises me anymore when it comes to this kind of carnage. Space is basically the new wild west. It's a lot more common than you'd like to believe. You're going to have to accept that we'll probably see a lot more of it."

"But it looks like this just happened recently. Do you think it's possible there could be survivors?" Kira pleaded, hoping to at least salvage something from this mess.

Yukimasa let out an exasperated groan. "I seriously doubt it, Kira. That ship has more holes in it than swiss cheese. There's no emergency distress beacon active. It's just not possible." It was then his transceiver went off, broadcasting a distress call. His red eyes widened. "Wow, I was not expecting that at all." Kira didn't waste any time, the Strike setting off to follow the beacon. Yukimasa could only grumble as he followed his partner.

The source of the call was a single man escape pod. "How about now?" Kira said, just a little smug.

"Fine! Let's just see if there's anyone alive so we can go back to the ship!" He turned to a civilian frequency. "This is Colonel Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku of the Orb Defense Forces to the unknown escape pod. Is there anyone alive in there?"

"Why yes! I'm quite fine, thank you for asking." A delicate, feminine voice spoke.

"I am too! Whatever! So are you!" A high-pitched robotic voice chirped. Yukimasa could only mouth 'what the fuck?'

Kira then cut in. "Ha! I knew I was right! You see, Yukimasa there are survivors. We can't just leave her here now, can we?" This was responded by an adorable sounding titter.

"I'm happy you were right. This pod has gotten quite cramped, I've been here quite a while. It would be nice to get out and stretch my legs. Not to mention Mr. Pink gets claustrophobic."

Yukimasa cut the transmission for a few seconds, groaning as he hit his head against the instrument panel once before switching the "Fine! We'll take her back with us! Grab the pod and let's go! I'll radio it in." The Strike took hold of the escape pod in its hands. The Orb noble just shook his head. "What will we find next, Cylons?"

Upon arriving in the hangar, part of the crew had assembled around the escape pod, curious as to who could be aboard. "You do have a way of finding these things, don't you, Mr. Yamato?" Natarle remarked in a dry tone. Murdoch was working on the keypad to decipher the unlocking code. Neuman and Chandra were standing by with rifles in case the situation turned hostile, the moment became tense as the door opened.

"Haro! Haro! Haro, Lacus! Haro!" a small robotic ball as big as a softball, flew out of the capsule, it continued chattering nonsensically.

"Thank you so much!" A rich, melodic voice spoke. The entire crew could only look on in silent wonder as the escape pod's occupant emerged. A young woman clad in a white dress with a flowing purple skirt and detached sleeves. Her long pink hair floated about her in an ethereal manner. Including the way she was floating about, many could have mistaken this girl for an angel.

Yukimasa reached out, taking hold of her hand, helping her to a gentle landing. The pink haired beauty took note of her surroundings, noticing the Earth Alliance uniforms, and she spoke. "Oh my, this clearly isn't a ZAFT ship, isn't it?" The tense atmosphere deflated fast.

"Wow, you just noticed that? Clearly, you have an extremely well-trained eye, dear." Yukimasa said flatly. She gave him a pout that while he was certain was meant to be one of disapproval, just made her look cute in his eyes.

"That's awfully mean for my savior to say."

He just shrugged. "For the record, you left yourself open to that. Besides. I'm not the white knight here, the softie with the brown hair is. I was ready to write you off, so be grateful." It was then Keijiro entered the hangar, having finally finished crying into his ice cream. He locked eyes with the pinkette, blinked twice, and then let out the loudest, girliest sounding squeal he could manage.

"No way! Lacus Clyne is here!" Keijiro's eyes bugged out with glee as he ran up to her. "I can't believe it! Lacus Clyne is here on this ship! How did this happen?" He pushed back Yukimasa, causing him to flip head over ass in the low gravity. "Might I say you look absolutely radiant today, Miss Clyne! I'm Keijiro Mishima, and I'm at your beck and call! You need something, I'm the guy to ask! Everyone else here doesn't understand the fortune that has graced us with your presence here on our humble ship!"

Yukimasa just rolled his eyes. "We have a pop star on board, big deal! The question we should be asking is why the daughter of the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs is doing here?" This got everyone's attention.

Keijiro just shot back a dirty look. "Big deal? How is this not a big deal! It's the biggest deal ever! Of all time!" To which his longtime friend just sighed, shaking his head.

"It's not for the reasons you're thinking of." Yukimasa turned to face Lacus. "Listen, Miss Clyne." He warned her, "if you're smart, then you'll stay away from Keijiro if you know what's good for you. Take it from someone who's had to live with him for the last three years."

"This just gets stranger by the day. The Pink Princess herself on our ship." Mu ran his hand through his hair, looking over to Yukimasa. "Tell me, Sahaku, did you install a weirdness magnet on this vessel without telling us? Because it feels like we've done nothing but run into one bout of craziness after another."

Sharon came up to Lacus, smiling warmly. "Aw, she's so cute!" The busty pinkette cooed, giving Lacus a huge hug, rubbing Lacus's face against her ample chest. "I love the color of your hair. Maybe we're sisters separated from birth and we don't even know it!"

"Geez, Sharon!" Natarle exclaimed before Sharon finally let go of Lacus. "What is the bottom line here? Now that we have the daughter of the Chairman himself on board, what does that mean for us?"

"It means we're even more screwed than ever." Cagalli finally spoke up. "ZAFT probably has every team available looking for her. It's just going to make us an even bigger target than before. I say we stuff her back into the pod with some extra supplies and cut her loose before we end up in any more trouble than we already are."

This got a strong reaction from several people. "How could suggest such a cruel thing!" Lacus cried out.

"Not fair at all! Not fair at all!" Mr. Pink added.

Keijiro was in Cagalli's face in a second. "Yeah, what the actual fuck, Cags? What crawled up your tailpipe and died? Oh yeah, that's right. Your country's precious values and beliefs going up in smoke! Don't ruin this day just because Daddy Dearest decided to up and get a reality check!" Cagalli was about ready to blow a gasket, only for Kuro to put a hand on her shoulder and flash a cold glare at Keijiro.

"Talk to her like that again and I'll make sure you won't be able to look straight again, Mishima. Cagalli's just having a bad day." Kuro then bowed his head to Lacus in apology. "My apologies Miss Clyne. I'm Kuro Takeshi Sahaku, and my lady doesn't mean what she says. The last few days have been quite trying for our country, and I'm certain she'll want to apologize to you." He made his point by pushing Cagalli forward.

The blonde's shoulders sagged. "Look, I'm sorry for acting like a bitch. That's usually my cousin Yukira's department. There's no excuse for what I said, even if…" She trailed off before sighing. "You know what? I'm just going to stop talking before my big mouth gets me in trouble again."

Mu took everything in. "It looks like this just got a whole lot more complicated." He noticed Murrue, who had said nothing through this entire exchange but wore a smile of amusement. He gently nudged her side. "Always something, isn't there, Ms. Captain? Why haven't you said anything? I figured you'd have some comment?" Murrue gently laughed, giving a savvy wink. the Hawk of Endymion just smirked. "Oh, you just wanted me to have the last word. You know how to flatter a guy!"


End file.
